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Background: The adoption of robotic systems for gastric cancer surgery has been proven feasible and safe; however, a benefit over the laparoscopic approach has not yet been well-documented. We aimed to investigate the surgical outcomes of robotic versus laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer, according to the extent of surgery and patients' obesity status., Methods: Between January 2009 and July 2011, 770 patients were enrolled in this retrospective analysis. All had stage IA/IB gastric cancer preoperatively and underwent either laparoscopic (n = 622) or robotic (n = 148) gastrectomy. Patients were classified into obese and non-obese groups on the basis of visceral fat area (VFA). The extent of surgery was defined by whether patients underwent distal or total gastrectomy., Results: The surgical outcomes following distal gastrectomy were similar between the robotic and laparoscopic groups regardless of the obesity status. After total gastrectomy, the number of total and N2-area lymph nodes were significantly higher in the robotic group than in the laparoscopic group in non-obese patients with VFA < 100 cm(2) (total, 38.8 vs. 46.5; p = 0.018; N2 area, 9.0 vs. 12.4; p = 0.041), but no significant differences were observed in obese population. Robotic group developed less severe complications after total gastrectomy compared to laparoscopic group in non-obese patients (p = 0.036)., Conclusion: Robotic assistance did not improve surgical outcomes over the laparoscopic approach in obese patients undergoing distal gastrectomy. However, non-obese patients with low VFA may benefit from robotic assistance during total gastrectomy in terms of radical D2 lymphadenectomy with fewer serious complications.

Purpose: This study was designed to assess the chronological change in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following robot-assisted distal gastrectomy (RADG) for early gastric cancer (EGC) and to compare the HRQOL of the patients undergoing RADG with that of the general population., Methods: Patients undergoing RADG for EGC between March 2010 and May 2011 were enrolled. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and the gastric cancer-specific module (QLQ-STO22) were completed before the operation and at 1 week as well as 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postsurgery. HRQOL data of the enrolled patients were compared to reference values obtained from the general population., Results: A total of 30 patients were enrolled, and the overall compliance for questionnaire response was 94.4 %. The worst scores for most of the domains were observed at 1 week postsurgery and usually returned to baseline levels within 3 months, except for fatigue, dysphagia, pain, and eating restriction. Diarrhea was the only symptom that did not recovered after 1 year. Before surgery, patients reported significantly worse social function and financial difficulties compared to the general population, which persisted for 1 year postsurgery., Conclusions: The immediate deterioration of HRQOL after RADG was restored to baseline levels within 3 months postsurgery in the majority of the patients. Robotic assistance might aid in the rapid recovery of global health status after surgery in EGC patients. Prolonged impairment in social function compared with the general population suggests that psychological support is necessary even for EGC patients.

Background: The prognosis of patients with positive surgical resection margins is dismal in gastric cancer. However, the influence of positive margin itself on prognosis is still uncertain, especially in advanced gastric cancer (AGC). The aims of the present study were to evaluate the prognostic impact of microscopic tumor involved resection margins in stage III-IV AGC after gastric resection in comparison with other well-known factors., Methods: Among 1,536 consecutive gastric cancer patients who received intentional curative resection for stage III-IV AGC between April 2001 and December 2011 at the National Cancer Center, 35 patients (2.28 %) had positive resection margins on their final histology. A comparison of clinicopathologic characteristics, recurrence pattern, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) was made between positive margin (PM) patients and negative margin (NM) patients., Results: Among the 35 PM patients, 15 (42.9 %) had proximal involved margins, 21 (60.0 %) had distal involved margins, and one (2.9 %) had both involved margins. Twenty-eight PM patients (80.0 %) were stage III, and 7 (20.0 %) were stage IV. Recurrence was significantly higher in PM than NM (63.6 % vs. 39.7 %, respectively; p = 0.005). The OS and DFS rates were significantly lower in the PM group than in the NM group (14.9 vs. 36.3 months, p < 0.001 and 11.6 vs. 27.1 months, p = 0.005, respectively). The presence of PM was an independent risk factor for both OS and DFS., Conclusions: The presence of PM is an independent risk factor for OS and DFS. Considering the prognostic impact of PM, a sufficient resection margin should be ensured when determining the resection line in gastrectomy with curative intent. The reoperation to secure clear resection margins should be considered as a treatment of choice in the case of PM.

A simple analytical method was developed for the determination of chlorfenapyr residues in leeks grown under greenhouse conditions. Residues were extracted by salting out, analyzed by gas chromatography with microelectron-capture detection, and confirmed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The calibration curves were found to be linear with correlation coefficients (r(2) ) in excess of 0.998. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.0015 and 0.005 mg kg(-1) , respectively. For validation purposes, recovery studies were carried out at low and high levels. Yield recovery rates were 87.27-89.64% with a relative standard deviation <6%. A maximum of 0.32 mg kg(-1) of chlorfenapyr residue was detected in leek sample sprayed three times at 7 day intervals until 7 days prior to harvest. The results of this study suggest that chlorfenapyr is acceptable for application in/on leeks under the recommended dosage regimen., (Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The acidic herbicides are an important class of chemical compounds that are used to control a variety of weeds that threaten many crops. Owing to their low microbial activity levels, the acidic herbicides exhibit a residual activity remaining for periods of up to several months in soils and water. The principal objective of this study was to develop an analytical method based on liquid-liquid and solid-phase extraction followed by HPLC, for the determination of 2,4-D in paddy field water. The residues were verified via tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) in negative-ion electrospray ionization (ESI) mode. Linearity was good over a concentration range of 1-100 µg/L with a correlation coefficient (r(2) ) of 0.999. The mean recovery rates of triplicate results ranged from 85.2 to 90.85%. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.4 and 1.0 µg/L, respectively. The method proposed herein was applied to field samples acquired from Hampyung and Sunchang counties, Republic of Korea. The analyte was detected at a concentration range of 6.8-12.8 and 3.55-24.0 µg/L, respectively., (Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

A simple analytical method was developed for the determination of acetamiprid residues in zucchini and zucchini leaves grown under greenhouse conditions using liquid chromatography. Residues were confirmed via tandem mass spectrometry in positive-ion electrospray ionization mode. The calibration curves were linear with correlation coefficients in excess of 0.999. The limits of detection and limits of quantification were 0.01 and 0.03 µg/g and 0.02 and 0.06 µg/g, for the zucchini and zucchini leaves, respectively. For validation purposes, recoveries studies were carried out at low and high levels, yielding recovery rates ranged from 85.7 to 92.2% in zucchini and from 90.5 to 101.9% in zucchini leaves, with a relative standard deviation of <12%. The results demonstrated that the pattern of acetamiprid dissipation followed pseudo first-order kinetics with a half-life of 1.9 and 2.5 days, respectively. The residues in zucchini leaves were substantially higher than in the zucchini plant itself. No residues were detected at 7 days post-application. The results of this study suggest that acetamiprid is acceptable for application in/on zucchini under the recommended dosage conditions.