[Postoperative lymph node metastasis status and related factors in patients with early-stage, low-risk endometrial cancer assessed by the Mayo criteria]

Objective: To investigate the postoperative lymph node metastasis status and related factors of patients with early-stage low-risk endometrial cancer evaluated by the Mayo criteria in order to make the preoperative evaluation more accurate. Methods: A total of 172 patients with early-stage low-risk endometrial cancer who underwent surgery in Sichuan Provincial Cancer Hospital from 2009 to 2018 and were evaluated as early low-risk according to the "Mayo criteria" were retrospectively enrolled, and were divided into lymph node metastasis group (7 cases) and non-metastasis group (165 cases) according to the results of postoperative pathological examination. The postoperative pathological examination results and prognosis of all patients were collected. The lymph node metastasis of the two groups was analyzed. The multiple logistic regression model was used to analyze the related factors of lymph node metastasis, and the area under the curve (AUC) of the relevant factors was calculated by using the receiver operating characteristic curve to predict the postoperative lymph node metastasis of patients. Results: The age of 172 patients was (53.0±8.6) years, and the follow-up [M(Q1,Q3)] was 64.1 (46.2, 91.4) months, among whom 2 relapsed and 1 died. Among the 7 patients with lymph node metastasis, 5 cases had pelvic lymph node metastasis, 1 case had pelvic lymph union and abdominal para-aortic lymph node metastasis, 1 case had isolated abdominal para-aortic lymph node metastasis, 3 cases had two lymph node metastases, and 4 cases had intrailiac lymph nodes being the most common metastasis site. Multivariate analysis showed that preoperative serum cancer antigen (CA) 125 was the relevant factor for postoperative lymph node metastasis, with an OR value (95%CI) of 1.022 (1.001-1.043) (P=0.042), with AUC (95%CI) of CA125 predicting lymph node metastasis of 0.850 (0.761-0.939) (P=0.002), and the optimal cut-off value of CA125 was 29.305 U/ml with the sensitivity of 85.7% and the specificity of 80.6%. Conclusions: When CA125>29.305 U/ml, patients with early-stage low-risk endometrial cancer assessed by the Mayo criteria, had an increased risk of lymph node metastasis. Therefore, adding preoperative serum CA125 level as an evaluation index on the basis of the classic "Mayo criteria" may help conduct more accurate preoperative evaluation and better identify early-stage low-risk EC patients.

[Analysis of factors related to the prognostic benefit of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval debulking surgery in patients with advanced ovarian cancer]

Objective: To explore the prognostic factors of patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval debulking surgery (IDS). Methods: The clinical and pathological data of patients with stage Ⅲc-Ⅳ EOC underwent surgical treatment in Sichuan Cancer Center from January 1st, 2014 to December 31th, 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, and the prognosis was followed up. Results: (1) A total of 216 EOC patients were included in the study, whose age was (52.1±8.7) years old, the median follow-up time was 44.6 months (17.2-80.1 months), the median progression free survival (PFS) was 11.1 months (8.5-13.8 months), and the median overall survival (OS) was 40.0 months (32.7-47.3 months). (2) Among 216 patients with advanced EOC, there were 75 cases in the primary debulking surgery (PDS) group and 141 cases in the NACT+IDS group. Compared with the PDS group, the serum CA₁₂₅ level before treatment (median: 859.4 vs 1 371.0 kU/L), proportion of stage Ⅳ patients [5.3% (4/75) vs 23.4% (33/144)] and no visible residual disease (R0) cytoreduction rate in the NACT+IDS group were significantly higher [(41.3% (31/75) vs 61.7% (87/144); all P<0.05]. The median PFS in the NACT+IDS group was significantly shorter than that of the PDS group (9.1 vs 15.2 months; χ²=7.014, P=0.008), but there was no significant difference in the median OS between the two groups (42.6 vs 38.0 months; χ²=1.325, P=0.250). (3) Univariate analysis showed that body mass index (BMI), preoperative serum CA₁₂₅ level, surgical-pathological stage, NACT effect, postoperative residual tumor size, time to initiation of postoperative chemotherapy and chemotherapy regimen were significantly correlated with PFS in the NACT+IDS group (all P<0.05); preoperative serum CA₁₂₅ level, surgical-pathological stage, NACT effect, postoperative residual tumor size, postoperative chemotherapy regimen were significantly related with OS in the NACT+IDS group (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that BMI, postoperative residual tumor size, time to initiation of postoperative chemotherapy were independent factors of PFS in the NACT+IDS group (all P<0.05); preoperative serum CA₁₂₅ level, surgical-pathological stage, postoperative residual tumor size were independent factors of OS in the NACT+IDS group (all P<0.05). The results showed that the PFS of patients with normal preoperative serum CA₁₂₅ level and (or) chemotherapy ≤7 days after IDS was longer, while no significant difference comparable with those in the PDS group (P>0.05), and OS was also showing an prolonged trend, but the difference was also not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusions: Normal CA₁₂₅ before IDS and time received chemotherapy no longer than 7 days after IDS are two related factors of prognosis benefit in advance EOC patients treated with NACT+IDS. Therefore, timely adjustment of the dose and regimen of NACT to reduce CA₁₂₅ level to normal range in about three cycles before IDS, and strengthen IDS perioperative management to promote postoperative recovery and perform chemotherapy as soon as possible might help to improve the prognosis of patients.

Molecular characteristics of MC1R gene in tile-grey plumage of domestic chicken

1. Tile-grey plumage is a unique and rare feather type of local chicken breeds in China, but its genetic mechanism and corresponding genes remain unknown. 2. In order to identify the genetic basis and molecular characteristics of tile-grey plumage, this experiment investigated variations of melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene in Yunnan Piao chickens with typical tile-grey plumage characteristics in contrast with three Yunnan local breeds as well as two standard breeds with different plumage colour, and analysed the association between genic variation and tile-grey plumage. 3. Through sequencing and comparison of the entire coding region of the MC1R gene, a total of 10 SNP loci were detected, of which eight were non-synonymous mutations that cause amino acid changes. The gene frequency and genotype frequency of the MC1R mutation sites in different breeds and different plumage colour groups revealed that C69T, T212C and A274G were significantly associated with tile-grey plumage. Eighteen haplotypes of the MC1R gene were constructed based on 10 nucleotide variations and eight amino acid variations. Haplotype distribution and the median joining network in breeds and plumage colour groups revealed a main haplotype (hap2) for tile-grey plumage. Hap2 is unique to the tile-grey feather of Piao chicken, and the individuals carrying this haplotype account for 62.96% of the whole tile-grey chicken. 4. The results of this study are of significance for further analysis of the molecular basis of tile-grey plumage and the selective breeding of tile-grey plumage.

[Comparison of posterior fossa decompression with and without duraplasty for surgical management for adult Chiari malformation type Ⅰ]

Objective: To evaluate and compare the efficacy between posterior fossa decompression without duraplasty (PFD) and posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty (PFDD) in the surgical management for adult Chiari Ⅰ malformation. Methods: Fifty-seven patients suffered from Chiari malformation type Ⅰ were treated in Department of Neurosurgery, Henan Provincial People's Hospital from August 2008 to October 2013. Twenty-three patients received posterior fossa decompression without duraplasty and the other 34 patients received posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty. The clinical results were retrospectively analyzed to compare the efficacy of two different surgical approaches. Results: There was no death or severe neurological dysfunction case in 57 patients of the two groups. Patients undergoing PFD had shorter length of hospital stay[(13.7±3.5) d vs (16.2±4.1) d, P<0.05]and surgical time[(98.7±22.1) min vs (132.3±39.6)min, P<0.05]. Cerebrospinal fluid-related complications and intracranial infection were more common in patients undergoing PFDD[(0/23, 0) vs (8/34, 23.5%), P<0.05]. Clinical improvement was comparable in two groups[(15/23, 65.2%) vs (26/34, 76.5%), P>0.05]at the one-year follow-up. The rate of syrinx regression in patients with Syringomyelia was higher in patients undergoing PFDD[(3/12, 25%) vs (17/22, 77.3%), P<0.05]. Conclusion: For adult patients with Chiari malformation type Ⅰ, PFD has the advantages of simple manipulation, short length of hospital stay and low incidence of cerebrospinal fluid-related complications and intracranial infection, compared with PFDD. It is comparable to PFDD in clinical improvement, but the effect of PFD is not as good as that of PFDD in the aspect of syrinx regression.

[Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses for testing validity and reliability of the Chinese language questionnaire for urinary incontinence diagnosis]

OBJECTIVE

To translate questionnaire for urinary incontinence diagnosis (QUID) into Chinese and to test its reliability and validity.

METHODS

The English version of QUID was translated into Chinese. The clinaical data of 95 patinents with urinary incontinence who were test by urinary dynamic study in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from May 2014 to May 2015 were analyzed prospectively. The reliability of QUID was evaluated by completing QUID twice. The validity of QUID was evaluated by the standard of urinary dynamic study.

RESULTS

Internal consistency (Cronbach α) of the items that pertained to stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and to urge urinary incontinence (UUI) were 0.91 and 0.89, respectively. Test-retest reliability (Kappa) was 0.795 and criterion validity (Kappa) was 0.62. Sensitivity and specificity were 83% (43/52) and 86% (37/43), respectively, for SUI, and 72% (13/18) and 86% (66/77), respectively, for UUI.

CONCLUSIONS

QUID has good reliability and validity. It could be used in Chinese urinary incontinence women.

[The causes and strategies for intraoperative rupture during clipping the anterior circulation aneurysms]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the causes and strategies for intraoperative rupture during clipping the anterior circulation aneurysms.

METHODS

Nineteen patients with anterior circulation aneurysms ruptured during clipping, who admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery, Henan Provincial People's Hospital from November 2012 to February 2014, were enrolled. Their clinical data were analyzed retrospectively to summarize the causes and strategies for intraoperative rupture.

RESULTS

The aneurysms ruptured during predissection in 2 cases (10.5%), during dissection in 11 cases (57.9%) and during clip application in 6 cases (31.6%). There was no residual aneurysm confirmed by postoperative CTA in 17 patients. One case with posterior communicating artery aneurysm cannot be clipped because of the serious avulsion of the aneurysm neck during clipping. The aneurysm was trapped and the patient paralysed on one side after operation. One case died postoperative 8 days because of severe cerebral edema, whose aneurysm ruptured during predissection. The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) of three months after operation showed good recovery in 11, moderate recovery in 5, severe disability in 2, and death in 1 cases, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Adequate preoperative evaluation for the risk factors of intraoperative rupture and excellent microsurgical techniques can prevent intraoperative rupture of intracranial aneurysms. Controlling the bleeding quickly and dissecting and clipping the aneurysm after definitely know the anatomy of the aneurysm and surrounding vasculature could be the keys to deal with intraoperative aneurysm rupture.

[Surgical treatment of ventriculoperitoneal shunt guided by ultrasound to the patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical efficacy of ventriculoperitoneal shunt treatment to patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

METHODS

The clinical data of 32 patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension who were admitted to Henan Provincial People's Hospital from August 2011 to February 2014 were collected.The underlying diseases included occlusion of the superior sagittal sinus (2 cases) and occlusion of transverse sinus (2 cases), and all 4 cases had a history of chronic otitis media.Twenty eight cases, with a history of oral contraceptive drugs (2 cases) and unclear etiology (26 cases), had normal venous sinus confirmed by imaging examination.All of 32 patients underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

RESULTS

The symptoms of 32 patients such as headache, nausea, and vomiting were relieved obviously after surgery.The symptom of visual impairment of 31 cases got better in varying degrees except that 1 case went blind before operation.Besides 2 cases of loss of follow-up, the remaining 30 cases were followed up for 2 years.Thirty cases had no perioperative infection.One case had infection 1 year after operation.No one had the shunt tube blockage.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension should be taken active surgical treatment when drug therapy fails and could obtain satisfactory clinical curative effect by accepting treatment of ventriculoperitoneal shunt.By intraoperative ultrasound guiding lateral ventricle puncture can be achieved accurately.

[Prevention strategies for surgical complications of sphenoid wing meningiomas]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the prevention strategies for surgical complications of sphenoid wing meningiomas.

METHODS

A total of 76 cases of sphenoid wing meningiomas were included from The People's Hospital of Henan Province from 2011 to 2014. Based on the preoperative imaging data, the patients were divided into 28 cases of lateral type, 16 cases of middle type and 32 cases of medial type. According to the different characteristics of different types of sphenoid wing meningiomas, appropriate preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative measures to prevent complications were carried out.

RESULTS

A total of 2 cases of facial nerve injury occurred in 28 cases with lateral type; 1 case of intraoperative subarachnoid hemorrhage and brain swelling occurred in 16 cases with middle type; 3 cases of oculomotor nerve damage, 1 case of optic nerve injury and 4 cases of vascular injury occurred in 32 cases with the medial type. The total incidence of complications was 14.5% (11/76).

CONCLUSION

Detailed preoperative planning according to the characteristics of different types of sphenoid wing meningiomas, intraoperative use of microsurgery and Cavitron Ultrasonic Surgical Aspirator (CUSA), following the principle of in situ removal, controlling the extent of resection of tumor adhering to cavernous sinus and the great vessels, the severe surgery complications of sphenoid wing meningiomas can be reduced.

Promoter hypomethylation and increased maspin expression in preeclamptic placentas in a Chinese population

OBJECTIVE

Preeclampsia is thought to begin with shallow trophoblast invasion and inadequate spiral artery remodeling. Maspin, a tumor-suppressor gene, plays a regulatory role in trophoblast invasion and motility. The tissue-specific methylation of the maspin promoter can regulate maspin gene expression in various cancers. We sought to detect maspin gene expression and assess the degrees of methylation of maspin promoter regions in preeclamptic placentas in the Han Chinese population and to investigate the potential role of maspin in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia.

METHODS

We conducted RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and western blotting to characterize maspin gene expression and protein levels in the placentas from normal and preeclamptic pregnancies. Finally, using methylation-specific PCR and bisulfite sequencing PCR, we detected the degrees of methylation of the promoter regions of maspin in each of the two studied groups.

RESULTS

Maspin expression was increased at the mRNA and protein levels in the preeclamptic placentas compared to the control group. Maspin immunohistochemical staining revealed positive staining in the syncytio-cytotrophoblast layers and more diffuse staining in the preeclamptic group. The mean methylation level of the analyzed promoter region was significantly hypomethylated in the preeclamptic placentas compared to the control placentas, pointing to a negative relationship between maspin promoter methylation and gene expression.

DISCUSSION

Hypomethylation of the maspin promoter results in increased expression of maspin in preeclamptic placentas, which suggests a negative relationship between maspin methylation and maspin expression in this Han Chinese population. Thus, maspin is likely involved in the etiology of preeclampsia.

Coupled Skyrmion sublattices in Cu(2)OSeO(3)

We report the observation of a Skyrmion lattice in the chiral multiferroic insulator Cu2OSeO3 using Cu L3-edge resonant soft x-ray diffraction. We observe the unexpected existence of two distinct Skyrmion sublattices that arise from inequivalent Cu sites with chemically identical coordination numbers but different magnetically active orbitals. The Skyrmion sublattices are rotated with respect to each other, implying a long wavelength modulation of the lattice. The modulation vector is controlled with an applied magnetic field, associating this moirélike phase with a continuous phase transition. Our findings will open up a new class of science involving manipulation of quantum topological states.

Haplotypic variation and characteristics across the toll-like receptor 3 locus in chickens

Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) has an important protective function against viral infection. The ability of an individual to respond properly to TLR ligands may be impaired by variants located in the TLR genes. By directly PCR sequencing four exons and their flanking sequence of chicken TLR3, a total of 50 nucleotide variants were identified from five breeds. Tibetan chickens and Silkies exhibited more abundant variation sites and rare alleles. Thirty haplotypes were reconstructed, with 31 variants whose minor allelic frequency was above 5% in five breeds, which revealed four divergent clades. Chicken TLR3 was partitioned into three haplotype blocks by the htSNPer program, and six tag SNPs could be used to distinguish these 30 haplotypes. Thirty variants were located in the coding sequence of chicken TLR3, and 16 of them were non-synonymous substitutions. It is predicted that p.Ser180Gly amino substitution could form an N-myristoylation site; the p.Lys240Thr amino substitution in chicken TLR3 could result in the loss of one protein kinase C phosphorylation site. These data provide a basic understanding of chicken TLR3 sequence variation and provide haplotypic markers for disease association studies.

Kashin-Beck disease and Sayiwak disease in China: prevalence and a comparison of the clinical manifestations, familial aggregation, and heritability

OBJECTIVE

To compare the prevalence, the clinical manifestations, familial aggregation and heritability of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) and Sayiwak disease (SD) in China.

METHODS

10,823 people from 1361 families in 14 villages in Linyou County, Shaanxi Province, were examined for KBD, and 2264 people from 552 families in Sayiwak village, Kashi city, Xinjiang, were examined for SD. The investigation included documentation of individual information and clinical manifestations. Patients were subject to radiographic imaging of the right hand. t-Tests and chi-square tests were used to examine correlations of the diseases with age and gender in each of the two groups. Analysis of familial aggregation was conducted with the chi-square distribution analysis of goodness of fit using the SAS8.0 program. The Li-Mantel-Gart method was employed for the segregation analysis. The Falconer regression method11 was employed to estimate heritability (h²).

RESULTS

The prevalence of KBD in Linyou County was 10.90%, and of SD in Sayiwak village was 0.57%. Of the 21 clinical signs examined, KBD cases exhibited 19 signs (90.48%) and SD cases exhibited 18 signs (85.71%), which indicate similarities between the two diseases. However, different clinical signs were evident between the KBD and SD cases, with different impairment rates among joints of limbs in KBD and similar rates in SD. A comparison of radiological features of limb arthropathy between the two diseases showed differences in several characteristics between the two diseases. In addition, measurements of stature and sitting height showed significant differences in bone development between the two diseases. For KBD cases, the values of h² in the first-degree and the second-degree relatives were 41.76% and 37.20% (P<0.05). The CI of h² was 31.17-52.38 and 19.86-54.55, with a segregation ratio of P=0.12, SE(P)=0.014, 95%CI 0.09-0.15, less than 0.25(χ²=42.36, df=1, P<0.001). For SD cases, the values of h² were 155.61%, 273.63% and 236.83%. The 95% CIs of h² were 133.20-178.12, 229.83-317.42 and 145.83-327.81, respectively, with a segregation ratio of P=0.34, SE(P)=0.059, and CIs between 0.22 and 0.45(χ²=4.9817, df=1, P>0.05).

CONCLUSION

The results indicate both similarities and differences in the clinical manifestations of KBD and SD. However, environmental factors appear to play a major role in KBD, while hereditability is a major factor in SD.

Heritability estimates and linkage analysis of 23 short tandem repeat loci on chromosomes 2, 11, and 12 in an endemic osteochondropathy in China

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the heritability of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) in first-degree relatives and to identify chromosome regions likely to contain susceptibility loci for KBD.

METHODS

A total of 331 probands with confirmed KBD in their pedigrees were selected from 9331 residents in 17 KBD villages of Linyou county, northwestern China. The heritability (h(2)) in first-degree relatives was estimated by using Falconer's formula. The segregation ratio was calculated by the Li-Mantel-Gart method. A total of 23 short tandem repeat (STR) loci on chromosomes 2, 11, and 12 were used to identify the susceptibility genes for KBD by linkage analysis using the GENEHUNTER program in 19 KBD pedigrees.

RESULTS

The general prevalence rate of KBD was 13.75% in the 17 KBD villages, lower than that of 20.88% in the first-degree relatives of the KBD probands. In the first-degree relatives, the heritability was 0.064 and the segregation ratio 35.10% (p < 0.05). Slight evidence for heritability was detected only in locus D12S1725 with a logarithm of odds (LOD) score of 1.95. However, the nonparametric linkage (NPL) scores showed no linkage between KBD and the 23 loci; the maximum NPL score was 1.59 for locus D12S1725.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that 35.10% of the heritability is attributable to genetic variation for the KBD phenotype among individuals of Linyou county, and the segregation ratio supports a multifactorial inheritance of KBD. There is no significant linkage between KBD and the 23 markers in the Linyou population examined; however, markers near the locus D12S1725 may indicate loci for further study.

Pigmentation in Black-boned sheep (Ovis aries): association with polymorphism of the MC1R gene

Variations in vertebrate skin and hair color are due to varied amounts of eumelanin (brown/black) and phaeomelanin (red/yellow) produced by the melanocytes. The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) is a regulator of eumelanin and phaeomelanin production in the melanocytes, and MC1R mutations causing coat color changes are known in many vertebrates. We have sequenced the entire coding region of the MC1R gene in Black-boned, Nanping indigenous and Romney Marsh sheep populations and found two silent mutation sites of A12G and G144C, respectively. PCR-RFLP of G144C showed that frequency of allele G in Black-boned, Nanping indigenous and Romney Marsh sheep was 0.818, 0.894 and 0, respectively. Sheep with GG genotype had significantly higher (P < 0.05) tyrosinase activity than sheep with CC genotype in the all investigated samples. Moreover, there was significant effect of MC1R genotype on coat color, suggesting that MC1R gene could affect coat color but not black traits. There would be merit in further studies using molecular techniques to elucidate the cause of black traits in these Black-boned sheep.

Pigmentation in Black-boned sheep (Ovis aries): association with polymorphism of the Tyrosinase gene

Measurements were made in Black-boned (n = 40) and normal (n = 23) sheep (Ovis aries) from a flock in Nanping County of Yunnan Province, China, as well as a group (n = 21) of Romney Marsh sheep (O. aries) with the view to explaining the basis of the dark pigmentation occurring in the Black-boned animals. Plasma colour was significantly darker (P < 0.01) in Black-boned sheep than in their normal flock mates, which in turn had significantly darker plasma (P < 0.01) than the Romney Marsh sheep. Similar significant (P < 0.01) differences were measured for plasma tyrosinase activity and both groups of sheep from Nanping County had similar plasma concentrations of glutathione which were significantly smaller (P < 0.01) than for the Romney Marsh sheep.A partial fragment of 750 bp of exon 1 of the gene encoding tyrosinase was constructed and found to contain two silent mutation sites (G192C and C462T) but there was no effect on amino acid sequences of tyrosinase. Using restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses two allelic variants of site G192C were identified giving rise to the genotypes GG, GC and CC; the frequencies of allele G being 0.914, 0.824 and 0.286 in the Black-boned sheep, their flock mates and the Romney Marsh sheep respectively. Plasma tyrosinase activity was similar for genotypes GG and GC and for both genotypes significantly higher (P < 0.05) than for genotype CC. The sheep from Nanping County displayed only the GG and GC genotypes and had predominantly black or black and white coat colour whereas the Romney Marsh sheep were of either genotype GC or CC and exhibited only white coat colouration. It is not appears that the dark pigmentation of the Black-boned sheep arises because of polymorphisms in the exon 1 of tyrosinase gene. However, this result could explain the differences between Black-boned and Romney Marsh sheep but not for differences between Black-boned and Nanping Normal sheep. Moreover, this result has provided evidence of genetic markers in the form of polymorphisms of the tyrosinase gene which may help to find the black traits causing mutations. There would be merit in further studies using histochemical and molecular techniques to elucidate the causes of the dark pigmentation in these Black-boned sheep.

Physiological and genetic characteristics of black-boned sheep (Ovis aries)

Here we report for the first time the discovery of sheep that have black bones and black muscles. The spectral pattern of pigment extracted from tissues of these black-boned sheep is similar to that of black-boned Chinese silky fowl. Additionally, black-boned sheep have significantly higher plasma colour, tyrosinase activity and kidney function than normal sheep. Synonymous nucleotide substitutions in the tyrosinase (TYR) and melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) genes were detected in black-boned sheep when compared with the corresponding sequences in normal sheep. In addition, a missense mutation (215T>C) in exon 2 of tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) was detected in black-boned sheep, and this resulted in a putative valine-to-alanine substitution at codon 68 (Val68Ala).

Radiation hybrid comparative mapping between human chromosome 17 and porcine chromosome 12 demonstrates conservation of gene order

A comparative study of human chromosome 17 (HSA17) and pig chromosome 12 (SSC12) was conducted using both somatic cell hybrid panel (SCHP) and radiation hybrid (RH) panel analysis. Sequences from an expressed sequence tag (EST) project in pig reproduction were examined and six genes and ESTs originally believed to map to HSA17 were selected for this study. The genes/ESTs were TATA box binding protein-associated factor (TAF2N/RBP56), alpha-2-plasmin inhibitor (SERPINF2/PLI), H3 histone family 3B (H3F3B), aminopeptidase puromycin sensitive (NPEPPS), an expressed sequence tag (ESTMI015) and P311 protein (P311). The SCHP analysis mapped five genes/ESTs (TAF2N, H3F3B, SERPINF2, NPEPPS and ESTMI015) to SSC12q11-q15 and SSC12p11-p15 with 100% concordance, and assigned P311 to SSC2 (1/2q24)-q29 with 100% concordance. Radiation hybrid analysis of all six genes confirmed the SCHP mapping results, with average retention frequency of 25%. Recent human sequence data demonstrated that P311 is actually located on HSA5q. As HSA5q and SSC2q show conserved syntenic regions predicted from bi-directional painting, our P311 mapping data is consistent with these results. An expanded comparative SSC12 RH map integrating the five new type I markers and 23 previously mapped loci was established using a LOD score threshold of 4.8. The gene order of the five genes/ESTs on the SSC12 framework RH map (H3F3B-ESTMI015-NPEPPS-TAF2N-SERPINF2) is identical to the HSA17 GB4 map but with inversion of the map as conventionally drawn.

Mitochondrial genetic variation in Chinese pigs and wild boars

The mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) from 30 pig breeds (29 Chinese native breeds and 1 European breed) and wild boars were investigated for restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) to determine the phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity among pig breeds and wild boars. Of the 24 enzymes used, 8 (AvaI, BclI, BglII, EcoRI, EcoRV, ScaI, StuI, and XbaI) detected polymorphisms. By combining the cleavage patterns for each enzyme, 108 individuals were sorted into eight mtDNA mitotypes. There are two haplotype lineages in domestic pigs, i.e., Chinese and European lineages. The pairwise nucleotide sequence divergence was calculated to be 0.56% between Chinese pigs and European pigs, suggesting that they might have diverged from a common ancestor approximately 280,000 years ago. The wild boars showed more extensive genetic variation, four mitotypes were detected in six wild boars. In addition, one of the Zhejiang wild boars was found to share the same mitotype with Chinese native pigs. A UPGMA tree based on genetic distance among mitotypes indicated that mtDNAs of Chinese pigs and European pigs are clearly divided into two clusters, and Chinese wild boars are more closely related to the Chinese pigs. Our results provide molecular evidence to support the previous hypothesis that pigs may be derived from two maternal origins, Asian and European wild boars. Chinese native pig breeds may have a single origin.

[Origin and differentiation of domestic goose breeds in China, inferred from mitochondrial DNA polymorphism]

Mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) of 138 samples from 11 domestic goose breeds in China were investigated by digesting, with 19 restriction endonucleases. Of 19 enzymes used, seven (Bcl I, Dra I, Eco RV, Hae II, Hinc II, Kpn I, Sac I) detected polymorphic patterns. By combining 27 restriction morphs, 138 individuals were classified into 6 mtDNA haplotypes. Phylogenetic tree was constructed by using UPGMA. There was no shared haplotype between Yili breed and the other 10 breeds. Genetic distance and UPGMA tree also suggested that Yili breed and other breeds came from different ancestors. Yili breed originated from Anser anser and other 10 breeds originated from Anser cygnoides. Restriction morphs digested with 4 enzymes (EcoRV, Hae II, Hinc II and Kpn I) could be used as maternal genetic markers to distinguish the two types of domestic geese. Mitochondrial DNA polymorphism was observed in the ten breeds of Anser cygnoides. Nucleotide diversity (pi), genetic distance between the two types and the average genetic distance among the ten breeds were estimated to be 0.025%, 0.266%, 0.029%, respectively. The breeds with white plume were affected by founder effect when they were formed. Swan domestic geese, Anser cygnoides domesticus, in China might come from two different populations of Anser cygnoides at two different places.

Assessment of topical therapy of the burn wound with silver sulphadiazine after its use for 15 years in a burn unit

A comparative study of patients receiving or not receiving topical applications of 1 per cent silver sulphadiazine cream as treatment for burn wounds has shown that the drug is still effective in significantly reducing the amount of bacterial contamination of burn wounds, even after 15 years of use in our Burn Unit. Consequently the overall mortality due to burn wound sepsis has been decreased in this Burn Unit.