Ruehmaphelenchus thailandae n. sp., isolated from deciduous dunnage from Thailand, is described and figured. The new species is characterised by the relatively stout body (a = 28.6 and 27.6 for males and females, respectively), three lines in the lateral field, spicules relatively small (12.0-13.3 μm) with weakly developed condylus and rostrum, bursa absent, vulva located at 79.5% of body length, vulval lips slightly swollen, length of post-uterine branch more than half of vulva to anus distance, female tail conoid, ca two anal body diam. long and with a broad terminal process up to 12 μm long. The new species is the third known for the genus. It can be distinguished from R. martinii and R. asiaticus mainly by the different shape and size of its spicules and different shape of the female tail terminus. The separate species status is also supported by ITS-RFLP pattern. Additional measurements of paratype R. asiaticus are appended.

IntroductionEctopic thyroid is characterized by the presence of thyroid tissue in a site other than in its usual pretracheal region. It is a rare condition among the thyroid diseases. Dural ectopic thyroid present in the cervical and anterior mediastinal has not been reported.Case presentationA 45-year-old Chinese woman presented with a nonfunctional ectopic thyroid located both in the cervical and anterior mediastinum. The ectopic thyroid was removed under video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery using a transverse neck incision and her postoperative period has been uneventful thus far.ConclusionsEctopic thyroid is a rare condition among the thyroid diseases, and its location in the anterior mediastinum is even more uncommon. Less than 15 cases have been reported in the last four decades. This is the first case of ectopic thyroid to appear in both the cervical and anterior mediastinum at same time. Masses in the anterior mediastinal are usually thymoma, lymphoma, pheochromocytoma and germ cell tumors. Ectopic thyroid in this area is quite rare so this case enhances our understanding of the diagnosis of mediastinal masses.

BackgroundWhether regional anesthesia is associated with tumor-free and long-term survival is controversial. Here, we focused on whether epidural anesthesia affects the long-term survival of gastric cancer patients after surgery.Material/MethodsWe obtained the records of 273 patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery between August 2006 and December 2010. All patients received elective surgery, and the end-point was death. The general anesthesia group comprised 116 patients and the epidural-supplemented group comprised 157 patients. The results were analyzed using a multivariable model to determine the relationship between epidural use and long-term survival.ResultsNo obvious association was detected between epidural use and long-term survival according to the Cox model (P=0.522); the adjusted estimated hazard ratio was 0.919 (95% CI 0.71–1.19). However, according to Kaplan-Meier analysis, epidural anesthesia was associated with long-term survival among younger patients (age up to 64) (p=0.042, log-rank) (but not among older patients (p=0.203, log-rank). A lower American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class and less chemoradiotherapy exposure were also associated with a longer survival. However, advanced tumor stage still has a significant negative impact on survival.ConclusionsNo obvious difference was detected between the 2 anesthesia groups, but younger patients may benefit from epidural anesthesia.

Aphelenchoides xui sp. n. is described and illustrated from imported packaging wood from South Africa intercepted at Ningbo Port, China. The new species has a body length of 564-820 ßm (males) and 549-882 /xm (females). The cuticle is weakly annulated with four lines in the lateral field. The stylet is 11-13 /xm long and has small basal swellings. The excretory pore is located ca one body diam. posterior to the median bulb, or 75-100 /xm from the head. Spicules are relatively large (18-23 /xm) with apex and rostrum rounded and well developed and the end of the dorsal limb clearly curved ventrad like a hook. The male tail bears six (2 -I-2-1-2) caudal papillae. The spermatheca is axial and oblong and contains disc-like sperm. The female tail is conical, terminating in a complicated step-hke projection, usually with many üny nodular protuberances. The new species is morphologically similar to A. arcticus, A. haguei and A. parasaprophilus in Group 2 sensu Shahina, but is distinguished by spicule shape and form of the female tail terminus. Phylogenetic analysis based on SSU and partial LSU sequences revealed that A. xui sp. n. was closest to A. varicaudatus, although some species of Laimaphelenchus and Schistonchus were also included in the same branch.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of malignant tumors with the worst prognosis. Surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy are the main treatments for resectable pancreatic cancer. For borderline resectable PDAC, neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been advised. For clearly resectable PDAC, neoadjuvant chemotherapy also might be considered for the patients with high-risk features, but with no precise quantitative criteria to define these features. So, this study aimed to re-evaluate the relationship between high-risk features and prognosis of clearly resectable pancreatic cancer, and to define the precise criteria for these high-risk features.Methods: Data from 211 patients with clearly resectable pancreatic cancer were reviewed to assess the relationship between overall survival (OS) after surgery and high-risk features, and cut-off values were determined for high-risk features that were associated with poor prognosis of clearly resectable pancreatic cancer.Results: Lymph node metastasis (LNM), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and primary tumor size ≥6 cm were significant variables related to OS. CA19-9 ≥1,000 U/mL was statistically related to prognosis, as was CA19-9 ≥500 U/mL without obstructive jaundice. There was no significant relationship between abdominal and/or back pain and OS, but patients with moderate or severe pain accompanied by tumor size ≥4 cm or 10 times higher CA19-9 levels had worse prognosis.Conclusions: For clearly resectable pancreatic cancer with R0 resection, the high-risk features were clarified. Abdominal and/or back pain may not be used as a prognostic indicator alone, though combined with CA19-9 or tumor size it may be more valuable for predicting prognosis.