Micro-PIXE (Particle Induced X-Ray Emission) Analysis of Aluminum in Rat-Liver Using MeV Heavy Ion Microprobes

Heavy ion microprobes (HIM) such as 3 MeV Si2+ and 3 MeV p2+ have been applied to the elemental analysis by PIXE (proton-induced X-ray emission). It was found that silicon and phosphorus microprobes have several times higher sensitivity for aluminum Kα X-rays than 2 MeV proton microprobes, and detection limits were more favorable in a phosphorus microprobe. Using a 3 MeV p2+ microprobe, the liver of a rat, which had been injected with aluminum-lactate, was investigated and it was found that aluminum segregates in areas with a dimension of about 10 μm. These areas could hardly be observed with 2 MeV proton microprobes

901–85 Lp(a) is a Predictor of Coronary Artery Disease in Pre-menopausal but not in Post-menopausal Women

Coronary artery disease (CAD) risk increases in women after menopause. Although numerous reports suggest that lipid profile worsening after menopause may be associated with an increase in CAD among women, there have been few studies that discussed the contribution of Lp(a). To examine the association between CAD and Lp(a) in pre-menopausal (PR, <55 yo) and post-menopausal (PO, ≥55 yo) women, we evaluated Lp(a) levels and other risk factor prevalence in 180 female patients (20 to 77 yo) with angiographically defined CAD. Six risk factors were assessed: hyper-Lp(a)emia (Hi-Lp(a), Lp(a)≥30mg/dl). hyper-LDLemia (Hi-LDL, LDL≥160mg/dl). hypo-HDLemia (Lo-HDL, HDL<35mg/dl), hypertension, diabetes, and smoking. Cases were defined as those who had >1 coronary artery with >50% stenosis. There were more patients with Hi-Lp(a) (61%*vs 27%), Hi-LDL (61%**vs 5%) and smoking (61%**vs 9%) in PR cases (n=18) as compaved with those in PR controls (n=22). PO cases (n=93) had more Lo-HDL (15%*vs 2%), diabetes (33%**vs 13%) and smokers (61%**vs 9%) than PO controls (n=47) did. The median Lp(a) of PR cases was higher than that of PR controls (38.8*, 22.7mg/dl), and they increased with number of diseased arteries. In contrast, there was no difference in the Lp(a) levels between PO cases and PO controls (21.7, 25.2mg/dl). Logistic regression model also revealed that Hi-Lp(a) was an independent predictor of CAD after controlling for Hi-LDL, Lo-HDL, hypertension, diabetes and smoking among PR (B=2.44, SE=1.20, p<0.05), but not among PO. Our data suggests that Lp(a) may be a strong risk factor for CAD in pre-menopausal women, and in post-menopausal women other risk factors, such as an estrogen deficiency, may play an important role. (*p<0.05, **p<0.01)

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Chemical Vapor Deposition of Amorphous Carbon: Dependence on H/C Ratio of Source Gas

By molecular dynamics simulation, the chemical vapor deposition of amorphous carbon onto graphite and diamond surfaces was studied. In particular, we investigated the effect of source H/C ratio, which is the ratio of the number of hydrogen atoms to the number of carbon atoms in a source gas, on the deposition process. In the present simulation, the following two source gas conditions were tested: one was that the source gas was injected as isolated carbon and hydrogen atoms, and the other was that the source gas was injected as hydrocarbon molecules. Under the former condition, we found that as the source H/C ratio increases, the deposition rate of carbon atoms decreases exponentially. This exponential decrease in the deposition rate with increasing source H/C ratio agrees with experimental data. However, under the latter molecular source condition, the deposition rate did not decrease exponentially because of a chemical reaction peculiar to the type of hydrocarbon in the source gas.Comment: accepted by Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (2008

Adrenalectomy for Metastatic Disease to the Adrenal Gland from Gastric Cancer: Report of a Case

Metastases to the adrenal glands are frequently found at autopsy. In practice, adrenal metastases have generally been accepted as evidence of blood-borne systemic disease. So, clinically curable adrenal metastases is a rare malady. The role for surgical resection in adrenal metastases has not been clearly defined. A 45-year-old man initially underwent total gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection for treating his advanced gastric cancer. A solitary adrenal metastases was resected 1 year later. The patient has survived for 3 years and no further evidence of disease was found on his last follow-up examination. We report here on this case to show that for selected cases, surgical resection of adrenal metastases is feasible and this procedure may extend survival for metastatic gastric cancer patients