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Abstract: This study uses anthocyanins in the red flowers of section Camellia as taxonomic markers to investigate the phenetic relationships among 33 wild species from China, Taiwan, and Japan. The 25 anthocyanins from section Camellia produced 38 pigment patterns that serve as phenetic markers. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated that the attachment of one or two glucoses to the cyanidin-core structure at the 3- or the 3- and 5-positions, respectively, was the most influential pattern against the first factor, Z 1. In addition, two alternative pigment patterns, acylated or non-acylated, and the structural isomerism (cis- or trans-) of the p-coumaroyl group were relatively significant patterns. Ward’s minimum-variance cluster analysis (WMVCA) produced a dendrogram that consisted of two sub-clusters. One sub-cluster (A) was constructed by species that have mainly two types of anthocyanins: 3,5-di-O-β-glucosides (Camellia saluenensis) and sambubioside of cyanidin (Camellia reticulata). The other sub-cluster (B) was made up of the 3-O-β-glucosides of cyanidin (Camellia japonica) and delphinidin (Camellia hongkongensis), with a higher proportion of the 3-O-β-galactosides (Camellia mairei and Camellia boreali-yunnanica). The former group showed a higher proportion of acylation, over 63%, but with the exception of Camellia azalea. The latter group showed less than 52% acylation, but with the exception of C. hongkongensis and C. boreali-yunnanica. PCA and WMVCA indicated that the greater the amount of di-O-glycosides and acylation, the more primitive anthocyanin traits the species possess. Based on these results, in conjunction with geographical and literary information, the data suggest that the Xinan district is the site/center of origin for the red-flowered Camellia species of which both C. saluenensis and C. reticulata have the most primitive anthocyanin traits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In order to determine the prevalence of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinomas (LEC), we have collected 160 cases from Asian countries and Russia. All the cases examined by PCR for EBV DNA BamHI fragment and in-situ hybridization for EBER-1, EBV encoded small RNA, showed positivity for EBV infection in LEC cells, while no positive signals were found in any other salivary neoplasm examined. The incidence of LEC was highest in Guanzhou, followed by Shanghai and Chengdu and lowest in the northern parts of China, Seoul, Niigata, and Moscow. The mean age of the patients with LEC was 43.9 years with no sex predilection. The Chinese patients were of the Han race, only including minor races. There were ninety-five cases found with LEC in the parotid gland (75%), 20 in the submandibular gland (5%), and 28 in the minor salivary gland (20%). Histologically, the LECs were classified into two types: small nest type and large nest type. The latter type consisted of large-sized tumor cell nests and dense lymphocytic stromata and more frequently occurred in the minor salivary gland. The former consisted of small-sized tumor cell nests with fibrous and lymphocyte-depleted stromata, which were more frequently found in the parotid gland. The results indicated that EBV infection and certain geographic factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of the salivary LEC.