Ectopic lingual thyroid is a rare developmental anomaly. It is caused by aberrant embryogenesis during the thyroid descent to the neck. It may remain asymptomatic or present with dysphagia, hemoptysis, dyspnoea or dysphonia. Clinically, it presents as a mass lesion on the base of the tongue. The most important diagnostic tool for an ectopic lingual thyroid is the 99mTc radionuclide scan, but imaging modalities such as computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging may also help to assess its location and extent and to rule out the presence of normal thyroid tissue in the thyroid bed. The management of an ectopic thyroid remains controversial. No treatment is required for asymptomatic patients in the euthyroid state. Patients with hypothyroidism should be treated with thyroid hormone substitution therapy. Malignant transformation is an indication for complete surgical resection. Ablative radioiodine therapy can be considered for older patients and those who are unfit for surgery. In complicated cases, surgical resection is recommended through the transoral, transhyoid or lateral pharyngectomy approach. We report a case of ectopic lingual thyroid in a 35-year-old man who presented with nasal twang and hemoptysis.

Drought, flood, salinity, or a combination of these limits rice production. Several rice varieties are well known for their tolerance to specific abiotic stresses. We determined genetic relationship among 12 rice varieties including 9 tolerant to drought, flood, or salinity using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Based on all markers, the nine tolerant varieties formed one cluster distinct from the cluster of three control varieties. The salt-tolerant varieties were closest to two flood-tolerant varieties, and together they were distinct from the drought-tolerant varieties. (GA)(8)YG was the most informative primer, showing the highest polymorphic information content (PIC) and resolving power (Rp). The drought-, flood-, and salt-tolerant varieties grouped in three distinct clusters within the group of tolerant varieties, when (GA)(8)YG was used. Sabita was the only exception. The two aus varieties, Nagina22 and FR13A, were separated and grouped with the drought- and flood-tolerant varieties, respectively, but they were together in dendrograms based on other primers. The results show that ISSR markers associated with (GA)(8)YG delineated the three groups of stress-tolerant varieties from each other and can be used to identify genes/new alleles associated with the three abiotic stresses in rice germplasm.
Droughts ; Floods ; Genotype ; Oryza ; classification ; genetics ; Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid ; Salinity

Methods: A total of 30 sets of images, including plain radiographs, computed tomography scans, and magnetic resonance imaging scans, were randomly selected from our hospital patient database. All patients had undergone deformity correction surgery for kyphosis. Twelve spine surgeons from the Asia-Pacific region (six different countries) independently evaluated and classified the deformity types and proposed their surgical recommendations. This information was then compared with standard deformity classification and surgical recommendations. Results: The kappa coefficients for the classification were as follows: 0.88 for type 1A, 0.78 for type 1B, 0.50 for type 2B, 0.40 for type 3A, 0.63 for type 3B, and 0.86 for type 3C deformities. The overall kappa coefficient for the classification was 0.68. Regarding the repeatability of osteotomy recommendations, kappa values were the highest for Ponte’s (Schwab type 2) osteotomy (kappa 0.8). Kappa values for other osteotomy recommendations were 0.52 for pedicle subtraction/disc-bone osteotomy (Schwab type 3/4), 0.42 for vertebral column resection (VCR, type 5), and 0.30 for multilevel VCRs (type 6). Conclusions Excellent accuracy was found for types 1A, 1B, and 3C deformities (ends of spectrum). There was more variation among surgeons in differentiating between one-column (types 2A and 2B) and two-column (types 3A and 3B) deficiencies, as surgeons often failed to recognize the radiological signs of posterior column failure. This failure to identify column deficiencies can potentially alter kyphosis management. There was excellent consensus among surgeons in the recommendation of type 2 osteotomy; however, some variation was observed in their choice for other osteotomies.