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Background The performance of thyroidectomies has been increasing over the last decade due to the growing prevalence of thyroid diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of preoperative vocal cord paralysis (VCP) associated with thyroid disease and other incidences of malignant or benign lesions, as well as different thyroid pathological features. Additionally, the epidemiological changes of thyroid diseases with preoperative VCP were investigated. Methods Ninety-nine out of 12,530 patients with preoperative VCP who had undergone thyroid surgery for various diseases in the Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from January 2007 to December 2015 were identified. Their clinicopathological data was recorded and case distributions from different years and intraoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve statuses were retrospectively analyzed. Results The incidence of preoperative VCP in 2007 was reported to be 1.53% (9/590) and had decreased to 0.53% (12/2,247) by 2015 ( P < 0.05). Among the 99 patients with preoperative VCP, 81 had malignancies (81.82%), while 18 (18.18%) had benign thyroid diseases. The incidences of preoperative VCP in malignant and benign diseases were 1.13% (81/7,159) and 0.35% (18/5,371), respectively ( P < 0.05). There were only 5 (0.04%, 5/12,530) cases of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma with preoperative VCP. There was no statistical difference between the incidence of preoperative hoarseness in malignant 69.14% (56/81) and benign diseases 61.11% (11/18) with preoperative VCP. Conclusions The preoperative VCP incidence rate had gradually decreased with an increased proportion of papillary thyroid cancer. Preoperative voice symptoms do not necessarily suggest a malignancy. Selective rather than routine preoperative laryngoscopic examinations should be performed on papillary thyroid microcarcinomas. The probability of preoperative VCP in malignancy was significantly higher than in benign lesions.

Glycine tomentella Hayata is characterized by a lack of adventitious roots. In China, G. tomentella is distributed only on the southeastern coast. Here, 59 G. tomentella natural populations on the islands and coasts in Fujian and Guangdong Provinces were morphologically investigated. We discovered G. tomentella (2n = 80 tetraploid) having adventitious roots existed ubiquitously along the southeastern coast of China. Fasciated stem variation was also discovered in populations at three sites.

Background We aimed to explore whether the anatomic extent of lymph node metastases (AE-LNM) could independently predict prognosis of node-positive major salivary gland carcinoma (MaSGC). Methods A total of 376 pathologically node-positive MaSGC patients were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database and constituted the training cohort. Using the X-Tile program, these patients were divided into three groups based on AE-LNM degrees. Discrimination of overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) was evaluated and compared with the 8th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) pN classification. The results were externally validated by 220 patients in a Chinese multicenter cohort (Validation cohort). Results Using the training cohort, AE-LNM was divided into Extent 1 (spread to parotid LNs or level I), Extent 2 (spread to level II-IV) and Extent 3 (spread to level V or bilateral LNs or rare LNs). Regarding both OS and DSS, the AE-LNM model revealed clear separation of survival curves, while the pN classification failed to discriminate the prognosis of pN1 and pN2 patients. When we incorporated both the AE-LNM model and AJCC pN classification into the same multivariate Cox analyses, AE-LNM was still an independent prognostic factor, while the AJCC pN classification lost its significance. These results were externally validated by the validation cohort. Conclusion AE-LNM is an independent nodal prognosticator for node-positive MaSGC and may have improved discriminative ability over the current AJCC pN classification. Integration of anatomic extent of LNM into the current AJCC N classification could be considered.

In China, Glycine tabacina (Labill.) Benth. is only distributed in the southeast coast and islands. In this study, 28 natural populations of G. tabacina species were sampled from 13 islands using 22 SSR markers. The Chinese G. tabacina was characterized by higher outcrossing rate and within-population genetic variation, extensive migration, greater population genetic differences and geographically weak-associated genetic differentiation, with higher level of heterogeneity within the natural populations along the southeast islands of China even though this species is a self-pollinating plant. The number of alleles per locus averaged 5.77 and ranged from 2 to 16. The expected heterozygosity (He) per locus averaged a value of 0.51, varying from 0.08 to 0.80. As an autogamous species, the Chinese G. tabacina unexpectedly showed a relatively high mean outcrossing rate in single locus (ts = 6.52%) and multilocus (tm = 6.75%), higher mean gene flow (Nm = 0.315), lower mean gene differentiation index (Gst = 0.436), and particularly, relatively lower among-population genetic variation (43.55%) and higher within-population genetic variation (49.66%) revealed by analysis of molecular variance. Spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed that populations within a radius of approximately 14.7 km would have a positive and significant genetic relationship to one another. However, the event of long-distance genetic background dispersal was revealed by individual assignment test and haplotype analysis (> 200 km dispersal was inferred, but > 56 km dispersal was observed). The north and middle-north islands of Fujian Province seemed to be the center of genetic diversity.

Glycine tomentella Hayata is a species of Glycine Willd. subgenus Glycine, and in China it is distributed along the southeast coast. In this study, 11 natural G. tomentella populations were collected and their genetic diversity levels and population structures were analyzed using 25 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The number of alleles per locus averaged 7.16 and ranged from 2 to 17. The expected heterozygosity (He) per locus averaged 0.60, varying from 0.19 to 0.86. The G. tomentella populations on these Chinese islands showed a greater average genetic variation (60.96%) among populations and gene differentiation index (Gst= 0.607), and a lower average within-population genetic variation (33.47%) and gene flow (Nm= 0.162). In this study, these G. tomentella island populations were characterized by a relatively greater average multilocus outcrossing rate of 5.74%, which may the result of heterogeneity owing to the perennation of G. tomentella. A spatial autocorrelation analysis revealed that populations within a radius of approximately 30.45 km had positive and significant genetic relationships. The Neighbor-Joining (NJ) and STRUCTURE analyses strongly showed a pattern of ‘island differentiation’ for the populations on southeast islands of China and also suggested that some genetic interconnection occurred along the southeast coast of China. The F-statistics suggested that geographically different G. tomentella populations had specific population structures. We propose that when collecting this species as a genetic resource, every G. tomentella population should be sampled.

Aluminum is widely used in transmission lines, and the accumulation of ice on aluminum conductor may inflict serious damage such as tower collapse and power failure. In this study, super-hydrophobic surface (SHS) on aluminum conductor with micro-nanostructure was fabricated using the preferential etching principle of crystal defects. The surface microstructure and wettability were investigated by scanning electron microscope and contact angle measurement, respectively. The icing progress was observed with a self-made icing experiment platform at different environment temperature. The results showed that, due to jumping and rolling down of coalesced droplets from SHS of aluminum conductor at low temperature, the formation of icing on SHS could be delayed. Dynamic icing experiment indicated that SHS on aluminum conductor could restrain the formation of icing in certain temperature range, but could not exert influence on the accumulation of icing. This study offers new insight into understanding the anti-icing performance of actual aluminum conductor.

Smoking is a risk factor associated with bone and oral diseases, particularly periodontitis. Nicotine, the major toxic component of tobacco, is able to affect the quality and quantity of bone. Osteoblasts serve an important role in bone formation. Thus far, the effects of nicotine on metabolism-associated gene and protein expression in osteoblasts have been controversial and the mechanisms remain unclear. The present study assessed alterations in osteogenic activity by performing a Cell Counting kit-8 assay to investigate proliferation, Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining to investigate apoptosis, alizarin red staining to investigate the formation of mineralized nodules, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting to investigate the mRNA and protein levels of collagen I, alkaline phosphatase, bone osteocalcin, bone sialoprotein and osteopontin; and mRNA microarray expression analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology analysis to investigate the whole genome expression profile of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat primary osteoblasts following treatment with different concentrations of nicotine. The results demonstrated that nicotine inhibited proliferation, promoted early apoptosis and inhibited mineralized nodule formation in a dose-dependent manner by regulating alkaline phosphatase activity and the expression of osteoblast metabolism-associated genes and proteins. According to microarray analysis, several genes associated with bone metabolism and genes in the Hedgehog and Notch signaling pathways were downregulated significantly in nicotine-treated osteoblasts. The results of the present study indicated that nicotine may serve an inhibitory, dose-dependent role in SD rat primary osteoblasts that may be caused by the perturbation of genes and signaling pathways associated with bone formation. These results may provide a theoretical basis for future research regarding bone metabolism and targeted treatment of oral diseases associated with smoking.

Background/Aims: Newly identified IL-10-producing regulatory B cells (Bregs) have been shown to play an important role in the suppression of immune responses. Chronic immune activation participates in the pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) but whether Bregs are involved in its development remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the circulating frequency and function of Bregs in DCM. Methods: In total, 35 DCM patients (20 men and 15 women) and 44 healthy controls (23 men and 21 women) were included in the experiment, and the frequency of Bregs was detected using flow cytometry. Results: According to our results, the frequency of circulating IL-10-producing Bregs was significantly lower in DCM patients compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, the CD24hiCD27+ B cell subset in which IL-10-producing Bregs were mainly enriched from DCM patients showed impaired IL-10 expression and a decreased ability to suppress the TNF-α production of CD4+CD25- Tconv cells and to maintain Tregs differentiation. Correlation analysis showed that the frequency of IL-10-producing Bregs and the suppressive function of CD24hiCD27+ B cells were positively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction and negatively correlated with NT-proBNP in DCM patients. Conclusions: In conclusion, the reduced frequency and impaired functions suggest a potential role of Bregs in the development of DCM.

Background and purpose The immune system plays an important role in driving the acute inflammatory response following myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI). IL-21 is a pleiotropic cytokine with multiple immunomodulatory effects, but its role in MIRI is not known. Experimental approach Myocardial injury, neutrophil infiltration and the expression of neutrophil chemokines KC (CXCL1) and MIP-2 (CXCL2) were studied in a mouse model of MIRI. Effects of IL-21 on the expression of KC and MIP-2 in neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes (CMs) and cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were determined by real-time PCR and ELISA. The signalling mechanisms underlying these effects were explored by western blot analysis. Key results IL-21 was elevated within the acute phase of murine MIRI. Neutralization of IL-21 attenuated myocardial injury, as illustrated by reduced infarct size, decreased cardiac troponin T levels and improved cardiac function, whereas exogenous IL-21 administration exerted opposite effects. IL-21 increased the infiltration of neutrophils and increased the expression of KC and MIP-2 in myocardial tissue following MIRI. Moreover, neutrophil depletion attenuated the IL-21-induced myocardial injury. Mechanistically, IL-21 increased the production of KC and MIP-2 in neonatal CMs and CFs, and enhanced neutrophil migration, as revealed by the migration assay. Furthermore, we demonstrated that this IL-21-mediated increase in chemokine expression involved the activation of Akt/NF-κB signalling in CMs and p38 MAPK/NF-κB signalling in CFs. Conclusions and implications Our data provide novel evidence that IL-21 plays a pathogenic role in MIRI, most likely by promoting cardiac neutrophil infiltration. Therefore, targeting IL-21 may have therapeutic potential as a treatment for MIRI. Linked articles This article is part of a themed section on Spotlight on Small Molecules in Cardiovascular Diseases. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v175.8/issuetoc.

Soyasaponins, natural chemical compounds in soybean seeds, have important health benefits and also influence soyfood taste. A total of 3795 wild soybean (Glycine soja) accessions, collected from almost all the areas where wild soybean grows in China, were analysed using thin-layer chromatography to clarify saponin composition polymorphisms within Chinese wild soybeans. Twenty-three saponin components were distinguished, including four new components. The four new saponin components were a Sg-6 saponin K-αg [29–acetyl H-αg] in 18 accessions, an HAb-αg [29-hydroxy Ab] in an Ab type accession, an A-αg [3-O-(Glc-Gal-GlcUA)-soyasapogenol A (SS-A)] which is a biosynthetic precursor compound of the Aa and Ab types and its derivative KA-αg [29-O-acetyl A-αg] in the sg-7 mutant. Eight sg-1 0 variant accessions without the second sugar (xylose or glucose) at the C-22 position and one high-content group-E saponin Bd and one high-content group-A saponin Ae accessions were detected. Our present results can be expected to play vital roles in clarifying the biosynthetic pathway for soyasaponins. We suggest that the A-αg is the precursors for group-A and Bd components, and the Sg-6 saponin is biosynthesized from the Bd component in the relationship between the biosyntheses of group-A and Sg-6 saponins. The above new components and variants contribute to develop healthy and functional foods in soybean breeding programs.

Group A saponins are the principal factors underlying the undesirable bitter and astringent tastes in soybean food products. Therefore, the genetic reduction or elimination of the undesirable tastes is of great significance in soybean taste breeding. Using thin-layer chromatography and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, we identified a novel mutant lacking group A saponins in a wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc.), reflecting the failed arabinose binding of arabinosyltransferase to the C-22 hydroxyl group, consequently leading to a lack of group A saponins and the concomitance expression of two new components A-αg and KA-αg in seeds. The C-3 glycosylated soyasapogenol A (SS-A), A-αg, is a steady precursor compound in biosynthesis of Aa and Ab types in the seeds of soybean plants and exhibits stable inheritance. In this study, we observed a critical step necessary for arabinose binding to the C-22 hydroxyl group in the biosynthetic pathway of group A saponins and identified an important germplasm accession for the genetic improvement in the tastes of soybean milk and processed soybean foods.

The aim of the present study was to identify potential therapeutic targets for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and to investigate the possible mechanism underlying this disease. The gene expression profile, GSE53157, was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Only 10 chips, including 3 specimens of normal thyroid tissues and 7 specimens of well-differentiated thyroid carcinomas, were analyzed in the present study. Differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) between PTC patients and normal individuals were identified. Next, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses of DEGs were performed. Modules in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were identified. Significant target genes were selected from the microRNA (miRNA) regulatory network. Furthermore, the integrated network was constructed with the miRNA regulatory and PPI network modules, and key target genes were screened. A total of 668 DEGs were identified. Modules M1, M2 and M3 were identified from the PPI network. From the modules, DEGs of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A, S100 calcium binding protein A6 (S100A6), dual specificity phosphatase 5, keratin 19, met proto-oncogene (MET) and lectin galactoside-binding soluble 3 were included in the Malacards database. In the miRNA regulatory and integrated networks, genes of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1C (CDKN1C), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, aryl hydrocarbon receptor, basic helix-loop-helix family, member e40 and reticulon 1 were the key target genes. S100A6, MET and CDKN1C may exhibit key roles in the progression and development of PTC, and may be used as specific therapeutic targets in the treatment of PTC. However, further experiments are required to confirm these results.

Group A saponins are thought to be the cause of bitter and astringent tastes in processed foods of soybean (Glycine max), and the elimination of group A saponins is an important breeding objective. The group A saponins include two main Aa and Ab types, controlled by codominant alleles at the Sg-1 locus that is one of several key loci responsible for saponin biosynthesis in the subgenus Glycine soja. However, A0 mutant lacking group A saponin is a useful gene resource for soybean quality breeding. Here, eight Chinese wild soybean A0 accessions were sequenced to reveal the mutational mechanisms, and the results showed that these mutants were caused by at least three kinds of mechanisms involving four allelic variants (sg-10-b2, sg-10-b3, Sg-1b-0, and Sg-1b-01). The sg-10-b2 had two nucleotide deletions at positions + 72 and + 73 involving in the 24th and 25th amino acids. The sg-10-b3 contained a stop codon (TGA) at the 254th residue. The Sg-1b-0 and Sg-1b-01 were two novel A0-type mutants, which likely carried normal structural alleles, and nevertheless did not encode group A saponin due to unknown mutations beyond the normal coding regions. In addition, to reveal the structural features, allelic polymorphism, and mechanisms of the abiogenetic absence of group A (i.e., A0 phenotype), nucleotide sequence analysis was performed for the Sg-1 locus in wild soybean (Glycine soja). The results showed that Sg-1 alleles had a lower conservatism in the coding region; as high as 18 sequences were found in Chinese wild soybeans in addition to the Sg-1a (Aa) and Sg-1b (Ab) alleles. Sg-1a and Sg-1b alleles were characterized by eight synonymous codons and nine amino acid substitutions. Two evolutionarily transitional allelic sequences (Sg-1a7 and Sg-1b2) from Sg-1a toward Sg-1b were detected.

To compare the efficacy and safety profiles of LigaSure™ small jaw instrument (LSJI) versus conventional technique in patients undergoing open thyroidectomy. This single-center, prospective, observational study conducted in Zhejiang Provincial Cancer Hospital enrolled patients who underwent thyroidectomy between September 2013 and September 2014. The primary study outcomes included determination of blood loss, operative duration, length of hospital stay, and drainage volume. The secondary outcomes included evaluation of recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, postoperative bleeding, and hypoparathyroidism. A total of 842 patients undergoing thyroidectomy either with conventional method (n = 440) or with LSJI (n = 402) were enrolled. A significantly reduced operative time and intraoperative blood loss were noted in the LSJI group (p

Objective: To study the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of thyroid cancer in children and adolescents. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of clinical data from 83 cases of thyroid cancer in children and adolescents from January 1990 to December 2010. We compared extra-thyroid extension, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and prognosis between pediatric patients ≤12 years of age (27 cases) and those >12 years of age (56 cases). All the patients agreed to undergo thyroidectomy and endocrine therapy, and the consent was obtained from parents or guardians. Results: Histopathology included papillary carcinoma in 67 cases, papillary carcinoma with partial follicular growth pattern in 1 case, papillary carcinoma with squamous metaplasia in 4 cases, follicular carcinoma in 7 cases, medullary carcinoma in 3 cases, and poorly differentiated carcinoma in 1 case. The total lymph node metastasis rate was 78.31%. Patients ≤12 years of age showed a higher rate of lymph node metastasis than the older group (92.59% vs. 71.43%, P=0.028). The incidence rate in females in the older group was higher than that in the younger group (80.36% vs. 59.26%, P=0.041). There were no significant differences in extra-thyroid extension, distant metastasis, survival rate, or recurrent disease between the two groups. Conclusions: The lymph node metastasis of thyroid cancer is higher in patients ≤12 years of age than in those >12 years of age; the incidence rate is higher in females than in males. Childhood thyroid cancer has a good prognosis, surgery being the most effective treatment. Choosing a reasonable surgery method and comprehensive postoperative treatment can achieve a cure and satisfactory survival rate.

Seed weight is one of the most important botanical and phylogenetic characteristics. The study objective was to understand whether there is genetic difference in different seed weights of wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc.). A total of 563 wild soybean samples, which belonged separately to genebank germplasm accessions (220 samples), one regional population samples (293 plants) and one natural population (150 plants), were analyzed using microsatellite markers. Of four size classes, the smallest seed size type had the highest coefficient of variation in seed weight; small and large seed types had relatively great genetic differences. In the national genebank germplasm accessions, genetic diversity gradually decreased from quantitatively dominant small and middling seed types to less frequent large seed types. In the regional and natural populations, generally, small to middling seed sizes had higher genetic diversity than the smallest and larger seed sizes. Cluster analysis revealed genetic differences in seed size traits. The semi-wild type (Glycine gracilis Skvortzow) was the most genetically differentiated from other seed sizes. However, it was also clearly shown that the phylogenic genetic differentiation among seed sizes was less than the genetic differentiation among geographical habitat populations in the wild soybean species.

Wild soybean individuals were sampled from ten habitat sites in Beijing region, China and were assessed using 36 SSR markers for the genetic variation among the habitat subpopulations. AMOVA analysis showed 57.46 % inter-population and 42.54 % intrapopulation genetic variation. The genetic variation had geographical regionality. The drought-stressed and founder subpopulations intensively reduced genetic diversity, and along-river system habitats appeared to have closer genetic similarity. The bottleneck impact of drought stress appeared to be inferior to the founding effect on subpopulation genetic diversity but superior on genetically geographical grouping. Here, all the subpopulations were found to contain unique alleles. The phenotypic and genetic diversities had similarly fluctuated patterns across the subpopulations. These results here suggest that a conservation strategy should be taken: theoretically as many as possible populations are sampled to maximize the genetic diversity in ex situ conservation of wild soybean within an area in China. Spatial distance should be considered for isolating wild soybean populations when genetically modified soybeans are cultivated in China.

Thicker, erect stem and enlarged seeds are characteristic of the domestication of cultivated soybeans (Glycine max) from its progenitor, wild soybean (G. soja). Wild soybeans have different stem thicknesses but the thick stem as defined here appears in a small number of small-seeded wild soybeans (≤2.0 g/100-seeds) in China. However, little attention has been paid to this phenomenon in considering the origin of thick stem in wild soybean. Here, we addressed this question through the study of a mixed field of wild, semi-wild and cultivated soybeans. Thick-stemmed samples had lower sensitivity to light period, higher mean genetic diversity (H e = 0.090, H = 0.535) and higher mean multilocus outcrossing rate (t m = 9.77 %), while thin-stemmed plants were the opposite (H e = 0.029, H = 0.416) and lower mean outcrossing rate (t m = 5.88 %). F statistics calculations indicated that there was genetic differentiation between the thin and thick stems. UPGM cluster analysis showed that not only were thick-stemmed wild soybeans genetically different from thin-stemmed ones, but they were also genetically closer to semi-wild soybean, to varying degrees completely dependent on seed size. These data strongly implied that the plants with thick stems had more complicated genetic backgrounds than the thin-stemmed ones, and that they were related to cultivated soybeans. This study suggests that if plants have distinctly thick stems (an average 2.5-fold thicker than other thin-stemmed plants) or stems similar to semi-wild plants and/or near to local soybeans in a natural wild population adjacent to farmlands, such plants could be cultivar-introgressive offspring.

The genus Glycine subgenus Soja includes two species, the important crop, soybean (G. max), and its wild progenitor (G. soja), and an intermediate semi-wild type (G. gracilis). However, the origin of the semi-wild type is in dispute, from independent evolutionary processes or from sympatric hybridization, although many studies support the hypothesis of a hybridization origin. Here, we reveal conclusive evidence for the natural occurrence of sympatric hybridization between wild and cultivated soybeans leading to G. gracilis by capturing natural F1 seeds based on phenotypic and molecular signatures. The F1 hybrids occurred through pollen flow between wild and cultivated soybeans, with many heterozygous loci and similar genetic parameters compared to the maternal wild populations; while paternal soybeans showed the lowest genetic diversity. The F-statistics showed genetic differentiation of the hybrids from the paternal soybeans and maternal wild populations; the differentiation of hybrids from wild soybeans was less than that of hybrids from cultivated soybeans. Natural F1 hybrids generated various seed sizes in the offspring, suggesting that cultivar-genes introgressed into wild soybeans, and the degree of outcrossing in wild soybeans seems to be very important for gene spread, exchange and recombination in the evolution of populations.

Thus far, there is little knowledge of the genetic diversity, structure and gene flow dynamics in rare wild and semi-wild soybean mixed populations, and such information is vital for understanding of the origin of semi-wild soybean (Glycine gracilis) and the biosafety protection of wild soybean from transgenic soybeans. Population eco-genetic data are necessary to provide a more coherent and comprehensive understanding of the genetic events that occurred in the natural habitats of wild soybean (Glycine soja). We tested genetic diversity and structure of 11 wild mixed populations of wild soybean (Glycine soja) and semi-wild soybean (G. gracilis), 1 wild soybean population, and 1 cultivated soybean variety population were studied using 20 nuclear microsatellite markers (SSRs). We found based on microsatellite polymorphisms that the mixed populations were characterized by higher mean heterozygosity (H o = 0.029) and outcrossing rate (t m = 6.35 %), and lower fixation index (F is = 0.891), and the semi-wild plants had distinctly higher heterozygosity (H o = 0.081) than that of the wild plants (H o = 0.007). The occurrence of semi-wild plants influenced population genetic structure but not geographical population differentiation. These mixed populations exhibited strong ecogeographical differentiation, which suggests that their original populations were colonized over a long phytogeographical history. The introgression occurred through pollen gene flow from the soybean fields into wild populations and created the semi-wild plants, with significant genetic differentiation from the typical wild ones. Introgressive genes could become established by two possible modes in wild soybean populations by both self-segregation and/or intrapopulation secondary hybridization. The latter deserves attention because of the possibility of rapid transgene escape.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic factors and therapeutic efficacy of parotid cancer (PC). A total of 135 patients with PC who received surgical treatment were recruited between January 1985 and January 2000. There were 47 patients with poorly differentiated PC and 88 with well-differentiated PC. In addition, PC of stage I, II, III and IV were found in 25, 47, 45 and 18 patients, respectively. Elective and therapeutic neck dissection was carried out in 46 and 39 patients, respectively, and 58 patients received post-operative radiotherapy. The Kaplan-Meier method was employed for survival analysis. The 5- and 10-year survival rates were 74.0 and 56.4%, respectively. A significant difference in the survival rates was observed between patients with poorly differentiated PC and those with well-differentiated PC (χ(2)=5.72, P=0.016). Cox regression model analysis revealed that age, stage of PC, pathological grade of PC and post-operative radiotherapy were independent prognostic factors of PC. Early diagnosis, early treatment and post-operative radiotherapy may increase the survival rate of PC patients. Patients with PC should therefore receive neck lymph node dissection, the extent of which depends on the pathological grade of PC.

The Glycine subgenus Soja includes two species, cultivated soybean [(Glycine max (L.) Merr.)] and the progenitor wild soybean (G. soja). However, a morphologically intermediate form, the semi-wild soybean (G. gracilis), exists between the two species, and its taxonomic position is under debate. In this study, we evaluated phylogenetic relationships and occurrence events within the subgenus Soja based on genetic variation of SSR loci using a set of accessions comprising wild soybeans (≤3.0 g 100-seed weight), semi-wild soybeans (>3.0 g) and soybean landraces (≥4.0 g). The results showed that semi-wild soybean accessions collected in natural fields should be treated as a variant of G. soja and not of G. max, and were genetically differentiated from the soybean landraces, even large-seeded semi-wild soybean accessions (6.01–9.0 g) with seed weights overlapping with or exceeding those of soybean landraces. Evolutionary bottleneck analysis indicated that semi-wild soybean is not a transitional form in the domestication of cultivated soybeans from wild soybean. G. soja contained two genetically differentiated forms, small-seeded type (typical, plus 2.01–2.50 g) and a large-seeded type (2.51–3.0 g). Genetically, the large-seeded wild soybean was closer to the semi-wild soybean, although in morphology it resembled the typical wild soybean. Ancestry analysis confirmed that cultivated soybean genes have introgressed into modern wild soybean populations. The green cotyledon character and other rare characters such as white flower, grey pubescence, no-seed bloom, and coloured seed-coats (brown, green, and yellow) in wild soybean were shown to be involved in introgression from cultivated soybeans.

To design appropriate strategies for ex situ and in situ conservation of wild soybean and safeguard the biosafety of the wild soybean gene pool when genetically modified soybeans are grown, it is important to understand its genetic characteristics, and to quantify gene flow and kinship within and between neighboring populations. We analyzed 9 pairs of neighboring populations of wild soybeans using 20 pairs of nuclear SSR markers. Results showed that Chinese wild soybean natural populations had outcrossing rates of 0–3.5% and that most populations contained many kinship families. The kinship families could be attributed to the accumulation of outcrossed offspring within populations during the history of population colonization. Wild soybean is very sensitive to environmental selection, which results in genetic differentiation of populations, and the emergence of specific alleles. We used an index τ to explain why genetic differences would exist between the pairwise populations; the interpopulation genetic differentiation chiefly consisted in the differences of allele frequencies over the genome. We found long-distance dispersal (1.5 km) of wild soybean seeds in a land ecosystem. There was close correlation between genetic and geographical distance among natural populations of Chinese wild soybean. Within a distance of 50 km, there was greater gene flow when the distance between populations was shorter. These findings have implications for ex situ and in situ conservation in an ecogeographical region, and also for protection of the gene pool from contamination by GM soybeans in wild soybean species.

Wild and cultivated species of soybeans have coexisted for 5000 years in China. Despite this long history, there is very little information on the genetic relationship of Glycine soja and G. max. To gain insight into the major events in the history of the subgenus Soja, we examined 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers of a large number of accessions (910). The results showed no significant differences between wild and semi-wild soybeans in genetic diversity but significant differences between G. soja and G. max. Ancestry and cluster analyses revealed that semi-wild soybeans should belong to the wild category and not to G. max. Our results also showed that differentiation had occurred not only among G. soja, G. gracilis, and G. max but also within G. soja and within G. gracilis. Glycine soja had 3 clear genetic categories: typical small-seeded (≤2.0 g 100-seed weight), dual-origin middle-seeded (2.0-2.5 g), and large-seeded plants (2.51-3.0 g). These last were genetically close to G. gracilis, their defining some traits having been acquired mainly by introgression from soybeans. Small-seeded G. gracilis (3.01-3.5 g) were genetically different from larger seeded ones (from 3.51 to 4.0 to over 10 g). Seed size predominated over seed coat color in evolutionary degree. Typical and large-seeded G. soja were found to have 0.7% and 12% introgressive cultivar genes, respectively. The genetic boundary of G. gracilis was at the range of 2.51-3.0 g of G. soja. In the great majority of wild accessions, traits such as white flowers, gray pubescences, no-seed bloom, and colored seed coats were likely introgressive from domesticated soybeans.

The wild soybean (Glycine soja), which is the progenitor of cultivated soybean (Glycine max), is expected to offer more information about genetic variability and more useful mutants for evolutionary research and breeding applications. Here, a total of 1,600 wild soybean samples from China were investigated for genetic variation with regard to the soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (SKTI). A new mutant SKTI, Tik, was identified. It was found to be a Tia-derived codominant allele caused by a transversion point mutation from C to G at nucleotide +171, leading to an alteration of one codon (AAC → AAG) and a corresponding amino acid substitution (Asn → Lys) at the ninth residue. Upon examination of this variant and others previously found in wild soybeans, it became clear that SKTI has undergone high-level evolutionary differentiation. There were more abundant polymorphisms in the wild than in the cultivated soybean.

Tibet is the highest Plateau in China and the world, however wild soybean has been found in its southeastern fringe region adjacent to the northwest of Yunnan Province. Tibetan wild soybean was distributed only in the Gongrigabuqu-River Gorge in southeast Tibet. This regional plant species belong to the flora of Himalayan-Hengduan Mountains, which comprises composite elements of ancient arcto-tertiary flora, tropical and semitropical flora. To date, few studies have been carried out on Tibetan wild soybean. Studying Tibetan wild soybean together with other regional ones helps to understand the history of the origin and dissemination of wild soybean species in China. Here we reported the status of genetic diversity in Tibetan wild soybean and the genetic relationship between Tibetan and other regional wild soybeans revealed by nuclear SSR markers. The results showed that the Tibetan wild soybean sample was significantly differentiated from other regional ones, as characterized by the lowest mean allelic richness ( $$ {\hat{\text{r}}} $$ = 1.40) and gene diversity (H e = 0.130) and the highest ratios of regionally unique alleles (63.26%) and fixed alleles (46.94%). These genetic attributes suggested that Tibetan wild soybean may have undergone severe adaptation selection for the plateau climate and ecogeographical conditions, and had less genetic exchange with inland populations. The regional population south of the Changjiang River (Central and South China) showed higher genetic richness. UPGMA cluster analysis revealed two large geographical groups, Tibetan and inland, and revealed closer relationship among the eastern populations, which suggested that the dissemination of this species in the eastern part of China might be rapider.

With 6 figures and 4 tables Abstract The cultivated soybean is domesticated from the wild soybean. Nevertheless, the origin of a semi-wild-type (Glycine gracilis) intermediate in morphology between the wild and cultivated species has not been very clearly established. The current hypothesis is that it is formed by hybridization between wild and cultivated soybeans. However, this theory is based on molecular data and lacks undisputed evidence, owing to no actual insight into the morphological behaviour of the occurrence of natural introgression. Phenotypic evidence is required in addition to molecular analyses. We investigated wild and cultivated soybean populations and captured the process of natural introgression between wild and cultivated soybeans as the direct and crucial evidence for the interspecific gene flow. Normal wild and cultivated soybean seeds from natural and cultivated populations generated G. gracilis-type plants, which revealed the speciation of G. gracilis type. Our results demonstrated that the semi-wild soybean type originated from reciprocal hybridizations between wild and cultivated soybeans. Phenotypically different cytoplasmic impacts between the wild and cultivated cytoplasmic genomes occurred in G. gracilis.

Genetic diversity is reduced from wild soybean to cultivars and from landraces to modern varieties. However, intraspecies genetic diversity loss between characters or phenotypes also existed in wild soybean. We revealed the phylogenic relationship of character types in Chinese wild soybean using 42 SSR markers. We conjectured that white flower, no-seed bloom, grey pubescence, and four seed coat colours were evolutionarily acquired phenotypes. There were a small decrease (∆H = 0.1–6.46%) of gene diversity and a moderate reduction (∆Na = 10.81–53.54%) of number of alleles but a violent loss (80.74–98.59%) of unique alleles in the acquired phenotypes. Our results seemed to suggest that ovoid and elliptic leaves were differentiated at the earliest and subsequently lanceolate leaf appeared before the domestication of soybeans within wild soybean, and that G. gracilis type was another earliest type, maybe emerged since the appearance of soybeans or it was concomitant with the domestication of soybean.

Saponin chemical composition was phenotyped and genotyped, and saponin composition-based geographical genetic diversity and differentiation were evaluated in Chinese wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. & Zucc.). Thirty-two phenotypes and 34 genotypes were confirmed from 3805 wild soybean accessions. Eleven phenotypes (AaαK, AaαIK, AaαIJK, AaBcEαJ, AaBcαK, AbEαIJ, AbαK, AbαIK, AbαIJK, AbβHAb and Aβ0) were newly detected. Four genes had frequencies: Sg-1a 78.8% and Sg-1b 21.0% at the Sg-1 locus; Sg-4 30.7% and Sg-6e 13.7% at their respective loci. The north-eastern and southern populations showed high genetic diversity; the Northeast region contained more novel variants (AuAe, A0, A0Bc, αH, αI αJ, αK, and AbβHAb), and the southern populations contained high frequencies of the Sg-4 gene. Gene differentiation (Fst) analysis suggested that Sg-4 and four group-α saponin alleles or genes (Sg-6e, Sg-6h, Sg-6i, Sg-6j) were important factors influencing the genetic structure and differentiation in Chinese wild soybeans. Geographical differentiation was characterised mainly by latitudinal differences, with two primary groups (north and south) based on saponin genes. Chinese wild soybean accessions differed from Japanese and South Korean ones in genetic structure based on saponin composition, the latter two being likely to have spread from southern China in the glacial stages during the last Ice Age.

Introgression from soybean cultivars to its wild progenitor species is an interesting antidromic recombination in natural ecosystem with many consequences, including the alteration of genetic diversity, the origin of semi-wild soybean, and implication for biosafety of the wild progenitor species with future release of the genetically modified varieties. Although such interspecific introgression is not suspected to be ubiquitous in the sympatric regions of wild and cultivated soybeans, the documentations published based on some molecular experimental analyses on the introgression have been little substantiated by the occurring process morphologically and remain deficient for unquestionable evidence, owing to the lack of actual insight into the population dynamics. Here, we found the phenomenon of gene escape and presented the evidence for occurrence of introgression from soybeans into the wild species and for how originates about the semi-wild type soybean based on morphological investigation of population dynamics. Our results suggest that more attention should be paid to the escape of genetically modified genotypes to safeguard the biosafety of wild soybean gene pool, if GM soybeans are released in China, the place of origin of cultivated soybeans.

Wild soybean (Glycine soja), as the progenitor of soybeans (G. max), is widely distributed in China and has been collected as a supplementary germplasm pool of soybeans. In this study, 375 wild soybean accessions from a set of genebank core collection were analysed for genetic diversity by using 42 simple sequence repeat primer pairs. The mean allele number per locus was 19.62. Ten-percent unique alleles involving 35 or 83.33% loci differentiated among the geographical regions. The mean gene diversity (h) per locus was 0.89. A very low mean coefficient of gene differentiation (G sT = 0.08) for geographical regions and a high mean within-region gene diversity (H s = 0.81) were observed, indicating that most genetic diversity existed within the regions. There was an obvious relationship between genetic distance and geographical distance. The results showed multiple centers of genetic diversity for Chinese wild soybean in North China, the Huanghe River Valley, and Central China as well as the Changjiang River Valley, implicating multiple site origins of soybeans within China.

Soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (SKTI) has several polymorphic types, which are controlled by co-dominant multiple alleles at a single locus. Of these types, Tia and Tib are predominant types, and there are nine differences in amino acids between Tia and Tib. Recently, an intermediate transitional type (Tib i5 ) between them was detected. However, other transitional types have not been detected despite surveys of many cultivated and wild soybeans. One of the reasons why other transitional variants have not been found is inferred to be due to the difficulty of the detection of SKTI protein variants by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). To detect novel variants of SKTI, nucleotide sequence analysis in addition to PAGE was carried out. Four new variants were found from many Japanese wild soybeans. Of these variants, three (designated as Tia a1 , Tia a2 , Tia b1 ) were detected through gene sequence analysis on wild soybeans having the same electrophoretic mobility as Tia, and one (Tig) was detected through PAGE. The Tig variant showed a slightly lower electrophoretic mobility than Tic. The nucleotide sequences of Tig were identical to those of Tib except for one T → C transitional mutation at position +340. The sequences of Tia a1 and Tia a2 genes were identical to those of Tia with the exception of a G → A mutation at position +376 and a T → C mutation at +404, respectively. The sequence of Tia b1 differed from Tia by three nucleotides: C → A at position +331, T → C at +459 and A → G at +484. Of the three nucleotide changes, two were common to Tia b1 , Tib i5 and Tib, suggesting that Tia b1 is an intermediate transitional type between Tia and Tib. Our results suggest that Tib type has been differentiated through a series of mutations from Tia before the domestication of cultivated soybean.

Wild soybean (Glycine soja), the progenitor of soybeans, has become an important germplasm source for soybean breeding. The Chinese G. soja germplasm collection includes two subcollections, one typical wild soybean (G. soja) and the other ‘big seed type’ (semi-wild soybean, G. gracilis). In order to understand the nature of this big seed type subcollection, a considerable number of 1,185 accessions were investigated focusing on phenotypes, compositional structure and genetic diversity of this subcollection. The results showed that there were 617 combined morphotypes formed by six major morphological traits. The morphotype number and diversity gradually decreased among four sections from small to large 100-seed weight sizes. The big seed subcollection accumulated distinctly high frequencies for white flower, grey pubescence, seed non-bloom and four seed coat colours (green, yellow, brown and black), differing from the typical G. soja. Between the two subcollections, only the compositional structures of leaf shapes were almost in agreement. A rare strip-shaped leaf only appeared in typical G. soja and small-seeded grade (100-seed wt) of the big seed type. Seed non-bloom trait showed that the increased frequencies were concomitant with the augmenting of 100-seed weight. The data suggested that white flower accumulated rapidly in the big seed type, followed by seed non-bloom, while the slowest rate of accumulation was grey pubecence, and that the ‘large-seeded type (2.51–3 g 100-seed wt)’ of typical G. soja and the ‘smallest-seeded type (3.01–3.5 g 100-seed wt)’ of the big seed type could have a closer genetic relationship. The morphotype number and genetic diversity showed reduced values with increased 100-seed weights. The geographical distribution of genetic diversity indicated two tendencies: decreased from north to south and also from east to west. Our results suggested that Northeast China was the first centre of morphological diversity for the big seed type, and the North was the secondary centre in China.

The present study aimed to discuss the advantage of the application of a cervical low incision for functional neck dissection in patients with thyroid papillary carcinoma. The study was a retrospective analysis of 87 thyroid papillary carcinoma patients; cervical low incision in the functional neck dissection was applied for 47 cases and the classic ‘L’ incision was applied for 40 cases. The different integrity, surgical time, blood loss and the aesthetic property of the incision were compared between the cervical low incision and the classic ‘L’ incision for lateral neck dissection of thyroid cancer. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was that the average total amount and the region II lymph nodes of the unilateral neck dissection were 33 and 10 for the cervical low incision group, and 32 and 11 for the classic ‘L’ incision group, respectively (P>0.05). The average unilateral neck dissection times were 87 and 58 min for the cervical low incision group and the classic ‘L’ incision group, respectively (P0.05). The postoperative incision of the cervical low incision group was smaller and more concealing. Additionally, the cosmetic deformities were milder for an inconspicuous cervical scar, and the sensation was improved for the patients in comparison with the classic ‘L’ incision group. These results suggest that the application of cervical low incision for functional neck dissection in thyroid papillary carcinoma patients aids in reducing postoperative complications, without increasing recurrence rates. Therefore, the classic ‘L’ incision can be replaced by the cervical low incision.

Regulatory T-cells (Tregs) are generally regarded as key immunomodulators that maintain immune tolerance and counteract tissue damage in a variety of immune-mediated disorders. However, its role in myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) remains unknown. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether Tregs exert a beneficial effect on mouse MIRI. We examined the role of Tregs in murine MIRI by depletion using 'depletion of regulatory T-cell' (DEREG) mice and adoptive transfer using Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3)-GFP knockin mice and the mechanisms of cardio protection were further studied in vivo and in vitro. Tregs rapidly accumulated in murine hearts following MIRI. Selective depletion of Tregs in the DEREG mouse model resulted in aggravated MIRI. In contrast, the adoptive transfer of in vitro-activated Tregs suppressed MIRI, whereas freshly isolated Tregs had no effect. Mechanistically, activated Treg-mediated protection against MIRI was not abrogated by interleukin (IL)-10 or transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 inhibition but was impaired by the genetic deletion of cluster of differentiation 39 (CD39). Moreover, adoptive transfer of in vitro-activated Tregs attenuated cardiomyocyte apoptosis, activated a pro-survival pathway involving Akt and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and inhibited neutrophil infiltration, which was compromised by CD39 deficiency. Finally, the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) revealed a decrease in CD4+CD25+CD127low Tregs and a relative increase in CD39+ cells within the Treg population. In conclusion, our data validated a protective role for Tregs in MIRI. Moreover, in vitro-activated Tregs ameliorated MIRI via a CD39-dependent mechanism, representing a putative therapeutic strategy.

The wild soybean, an annual self-pollinating plant, is the progenitor of soybeans and is extensively distributed in the Far East of Russia, the Korea peninsula, China and Japan. Geographically, Japan is surrounded by sea and insulated from China. We preliminarily evaluate whether the Japanese and Chinese wild soybean germplasm pools are genetically differentiated from each other using SSR markers. The results showed that the two pools have great genetic differentiation. Some loci presented obvious differences in mean genetic divergence (GST) value between the two pools. The GST among the geographic regions in China was higher than that in Japan. The average within-geographic region gene diversity values (HS) in the two pools were completely identical and thus the genetic difference between the two pools was mostly attributed to the relatively high level of between-geographic region gene diversity (DST) in China. We suggest that Japanese and Chinese wild soybeans should be comparatively independently evolving in phylogeny.

Soybean Kunit trypsin inhibitor (SKTI) has several polymorphic types. Of these SKTI, there are large differences of nine amino acid substitutions between Tia and Tib. So far no transitional type between them has been found. A novel transitional intermediate variant between Tia and Tib was detected in 11 lines from 720 Japanese wild soybeans (Glycine soja Sieb.Zucc.). This variant showed identical electrophoretic mobility to Tib in the Davis system polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), but higher electric points than other SKTI proteins (Tia, Tib, Tic) in isoelectric focusing PAGE. The genetic analysis of SKTI in F(2) seeds from a cross between the novel variant type and Tib showed that this variant type is inherited as codominant alleles in a multiple allelic system at an SKTI locus. This variant also showed inhibitory activity to trypsin. We propose the genetic symbol Ti b ( i5) for this novel variant. The sequence analysis of Tib ( i5) revealed that six nucleotides were different between Tib ( i5) and Tia, and the nucleotides of these mutated positions were identical to Tib. This causes substitution of five amino acids at the residue position 62 (Tyr--Phe), 74 (Ser--Arg), 114 (Met--Val), 120 (Leu--Ile) and 137 (Pro--Thr). These substitutive amino acids are completely in accord with the amino acids of Tib, showing that Tib ( i5) is an intermediate between Tia and Tib types. Tib ( i5) type is widely distributed throughout seven separate areas from northeast to southwest Japan with a 1.5% frequency of total materials examined. This indicated that Tib ( i5) type did not originate from a recent mutation event, but had spread in wild soybean from ancient times.

A novel variant of soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (SKTI) was detected in 530 lines of wild soybean (Glycine soja). This variant showed an intermediate electrophoretic mobility between the Tia and Tic types. In isoelectric focusing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gels containing urea, this variant had a similar isoelectric point as that of Tia. The genetic analysis of SKTI bands in F2 seeds from crosses of the new variant type with Tia or Tic type showed that this variant type is controlled by a codominant allele at the SKTI locus. We propose the genetic symbol Tif for this novel variant. When the nucleotide sequence of the Tif gene was compared with those of other types of SKTI genes (Tia, Tib, and Tic), the sequence of Tif was identical to that of Tib with the exception of one A[Formula: see text]G transitional mutation occurring at position 676 of Tif. This mutation resulted in an amino acid change from Lys to Glu at the 178 residue. These results suggest that this variant is derived from Tib through a point mutation. In addition, we settled an inconsistency in the number of amino acid differences between Tia and Tib (eight or nine). Analysis of nucleotide and amino acid sequences revealed that Tib was different from Tia by nine amino acids.Key words: soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor, polymorphism, gene sequence, soybean, wild soybean.

Genetic and nucleotide sequence studies were performed on a new variant of soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor(SKTI)detected in wild soybean(Glycine soja)and showing a slightly slower electrophoretic mobility than the Tia type. The segregation analysis of SKTI bands in F_2 seeds from crosses of the new variant type with Tia or Tib type showed that the variant type is controlled by an allele codominant to Tia and Tib at an SKTI locus. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that this variant has 217 amino acids composed of 181 amino acid residues of mature SKTI and extra 25 and 11 amino acids at N- and C-terminal regions, respectively. This sequence was identical to that of Tia(=KTi3), except that a G→A transitional mutation occurred at position 500 of Tia, which results in the translational change from Arg to Lys. The results in the translational change from Arg to Lys. The result of isoelectric forcusing-PAGE coincided with this change. In addition, three nucleotides GCT were inserted at the N-terminus, which leads to an Ala addition in the precursor of this SKTI protein. From these results, we propose the genetic symbol Tie for the new variant SKTI.

Background Artificial selection played an important role in the origin of modern Glycine max cultivars from the wild soybean Glycine soja. To elucidate the consequences of artificial selection accompanying the domestication and modern improvement of soybean, 25 new and 30 published whole-genome re-sequencing accessions, which represent wild, domesticated landrace, and Chinese elite soybean populations were analyzed. Results A total of 5,102,244 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 707,969 insertion/deletions were identified. Among the SNPs detected, 25.5% were not described previously. We found that artificial selection during domestication led to more pronounced reduction in the genetic diversity of soybean than the switch from landraces to elite cultivars. Only a small proportion (2.99%) of the whole genomic regions appear to be affected by artificial selection for preferred agricultural traits. The selection regions were not distributed randomly or uniformly throughout the genome. Instead, clusters of selection hotspots in certain genomic regions were observed. Moreover, a set of candidate genes (4.38% of the total annotated genes) significantly affected by selection underlying soybean domestication and genetic improvement were identified. Conclusions Given the uniqueness of the soybean germplasm sequenced, this study drew a clear picture of human-mediated evolution of the soybean genomes. The genomic resources and information provided by this study would also facilitate the discovery of genes/loci underlying agronomically important traits.

To explore the clinical characteristics, therapeutic and clinical significance for RET proto-oncogene screening in a pedigree with familial medullary thyroid carcinoma.Comprehensive medical history was obtained from 19 members in a 4-generate southern Chinese family. Systemic clinical investigations including biochemical testing, imaging examinations and germline RET screening.RET screening showed heterozygous missense mutations of TGC to TAC at codon 618 on exon 10 in 8 cases (p.C618Y) completely consistent with the clinical manifestations. The clinical data of 7 patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and 2 carriers of asymptomatic RET mutation from were analyzed. Single/bilateral multi-centric MTC with lymph node metastases was confirmed in 6 cases by histopathology and 1 case by clinical examination. There were 1 male and 6 females with an initial mean diagnostic age was 49.6 years (range: 24 - 78). All had palpable neck masses. And the mean maximum diameter of MTC was 2.6 cm (range 1.4 - 4.4). Seven patients underwent thyroidectomy except a 78-year-old female patient: right total and left subtotal thyroidectomy (n = 1), right total thyroidectomy (previous left total thyroidectomy for benign mass) (n = 1) and total thyroidectomy (n = 4) were performed. All procedures were accompanied by at least bilateral level VI lymph node dissection and/or with modified single/bilateral neck dissection. After the first operation, 6 patients still presented a high value of calcitonin: 1 patient died of metastasis 64 months postoperatively; 3 patients underwent reoperation at 6 months after initial operation, the calcitonin levels dropped to normal in 2/3 cases and stayed higher in 1 case; another two cases presented bilateral thyroid gland residua, local lymph node enlargement on imaging examination and elevated levels of calcitonin at 214 and 60 months postoperation respectively. However, 1/2 asymptomatic with elevated pre-operative calcitonin subjects underwent total thyroidectomy and histopathological examination showed bilateral C cell hyperplasia. The other carriers, without surgery, with normal neck images, close monitoring and a 10-month follow-up, still presented undetectable calcitonin.Based on family survey, integrated RET screening and serum levels of calcitonin facilitate an early diagnosis and normalize surgery to improve the prognosis. For asymptomatic RET mutation carriers, their levels of calcitonin shall guide the individualized regimen of prophylactic thyroidectomy or strict monitoring and follow-ups.

To investigate the prognosis of adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) in minor salivary glands and its influencing factors.Clinical data of 52 patients with ACC in minor salivary glands were reviewed. The distribution of stage was as follows: stage I (6%), stage II (21%), stage III (27%) and stage IV (46%). Counting data was analyzed by χ(2) test or Fisher's exact. Survival rates were calculated by Kaplan-Merier method. Statistical significance of differences in the cumulative survival curves was evaluated using the Log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed by Cox proportional hazard model.All patients underwent primary tumor radical resection, 39 patients (75%) received postoperative radiation. The regional recurrence rate was 37% and distant metastasis rate was 21%. The 5-, 10-year cumulative local control rate were 68% and 63% respectively. The 5-, 10-year cumulative distant control rate were 86%, 68% respectively. The 5-, 10-year tumor specific survival rates were 70% and 54% respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that T stage, lymph node metastasis and perineural invasion were relevant to the tumor specific survival of ACC in minor salivary glands.Recurrence and metastasis were the main cause of treatment failure of ACC in minor salivary glands. T stage, lymph node metastasis and perineural invasion were the independent prognostic factors of ACC in minor salivary glands. Radical surgery and reasonably postoperative radiotherapy were the main treatment strategy.

In order to detect mobility variants of soybean Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (SKTI) proteins, we developed a large slab gel method (18.5 cm long X 14.5 cm wide) of elec-trophoresis, and analyzed 173 cultivars of soybeans (Glycine max ) from Japan and China, and 62 populations of wild soybeans (G. soja ) collected from all over lwate Prefecture, Japan. As a result of this electrophoretic survey, two new mobility variants were discovered: a variant showing a slightly slower mobility than the Tia type (tentatively designated as Tia-s ) in a wild soybean line and another variant with a slightly faster mobility than the Tib type (tentatively designated as Tib-f) in a cultivated soybean variety. Transmissibility of this variation to consecutive generations was confirmed by parent-offspring tests and hybridization tests using the variants and/or the common types. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) test applied to these two variants revealed differences in the location of the isoelet-ric points in the gel. Significance of these discoveries was discussed.

To investigate the clinicopathological feature of oncocytic carcinoma of the salivary gland, and discuss diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.From March 2001 to September 2010, the clinical data and pathological features of 12 cases of oncocytic carcinoma of the salivary gland in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. All cases are followed up. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival curves by SPSS 16.0 software package.The tumors were found mainly as a painless, irregular-shaped mass or lymphadenectasis in the head and neck firstly. Pathologically, oncocytic carcinoma of salivary gland origin was an extremely rare proliferation of malignant oncocytes with adenocarcinomatous architectural phenotypes, including prominent nucleoli and infiltrative qualities. Surgery was the principal treatment, and postoperative radiotherapy was used as adjuvant treatment. Of the 12 cases with follow-up for 6 to 120 months, 7 cases survived without regional or distant metastases. 1 case survived with regional and distant metastases. 2 cases died of regional recurrences.1 case had lymphatic metastasis and died of distant metastasis finally.1 case had given up therapy and died of tumor progress ultimately. 3 cases had local recurrence within 2 years, and the recurrence rate was 25%; 3 cases died within 2 years, and the mortality rate was 25%.Oncocytic carcinoma of salivary gland origin is an extremely rare tumor in head and neck, with short course and rapid progress. Radical resection postoperative radiotherapy is the treatment of choice. The prognosis of oncocytic carcinoma may be associated with tumor stage, regional lymph node metastases and complete surgical excision.

We report five cases of primary synovial sarcomas arising in the parapharyngeal space. The patients were all men with a median age of 35 years (range 22 to 41 years). The tumors were non-encapsulated solid masses ranging from 2.0 to 6.6 cm in size. Histologically, three cases were biphasic subtype, and the other two cases were monophasic subtype. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were strongly positive for bcl-2 and CD99, partly positive for CK and EMA, and negative for CD117, CD34, SMA and desmin in all five cases. S-100 protein was detected in one case. The presence of an SYT–SSX1 and/or SYT-SSX2 gene fusion resulting from t(X;18) was demonstrated from paraffin blocks by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in five cases. All five patients received tumor radical excision and postoperative radiotherapy, and two patients with pulmonary metastasis received additional chemotherapy. Follow-up data revealed that two patients with tumor size <5 cm were alive without disease for 54 and 57 months, one patient with tumor size <5 cm was alive with pulmonary metastasis for 78 months, and two patients with tumor size >5 cm died of disease 26 and 37 months after the diagnosis, respectively. Primary parapharyngeal synovial sarcoma is a rare variant that occurs more frequently in males than females. Accurate diagnosis depends on morphologic and immunohistochemical examination and proper molecular analysis. The prognosis is relatively good in those patients whose tumor size is less than 5 cm.