Search

著者人数: 20名, Accepted: 2010-08-06, 資料番号: SA1005132000

[1] Model calculations were conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-chem) for the region around Beijing, China, in the summer of 2006, when the CAREBeijing-2006 intensive campaign was conducted. In this paper, we interpret aerosol optical properties in terms of aerosol mass concentrations and their chemical compositions by linking model calculations with measurements. The model calculations generally captured the observed variability of various surface and column aerosol optical parameters in and around Beijing. At the surface, the spatial and temporal variations of aerosol absorption and scattering coefficients corresponded well to those of elemental carbon and sulfate mass concentrations, respectively, and were controlled by local-scale (

[1] Mechanisms of vertical transport of black carbon (BC) aerosols and their three-dimensional transport pathways over East Asia in spring were examined through numerical simulations for the Aerosol Radiative Forcing in East Asia (A-FORCE) aircraft campaign in March–April 2009 using a modified version of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. The simulations reproduced the spatial distributions of mass concentration of BC and its transport efficiency observed by the A-FORCE campaign reasonably well, including its vertical and latitudinal gradients and dependency on precipitation amount that air parcels experienced during the transport. During the A-FORCE period, two types of pronounced upward BC mass fluxes from the planetary boundary layer (PBL) to the free troposphere were found over northeastern and inland-southern China. Over northeastern China, cyclones with modest precipitation were the primary uplifting mechanism of BC. Over inland-southern China, both cumulus convection and orographic uplifting along the slopes of the Tibetan Plateau played important roles in the upward transport of BC, despite its efficient wet deposition due to a large amount of precipitation supported by an abundant moisture supply by the low-level southerlies. In addition to the midlatitude (35–45°N) eastward outflow within the PBL (21% BC removal by precipitation during transport), the uplifting of BC over northeastern and inland-southern China and the subsequent BC transport by the midlatitude lower tropospheric (50% BC removal) and subtropical (25–35°N) midtropospheric westerlies (67% BC removal), respectively, provided the major transport pathways for BC export from continental East Asia to the Pacific.

scale of about 1000 � 1000 km 2 under an anticyclonic pressure system. This air mass was transported northward fromthe high anthropogenic emission area extending south of Beijing with continuous photochemical production. Subsequent cold front passage broughtclean airfromthenorth,andpollutedairaround Beijingwassweptto thesouth of Beijing. This cycle was repeated about once a week and was found to be responsible for observed enhancements/reductions of aerosols at the intensive measurement sites. In contrast to secondary aerosols,the spatial distributions of primary aerosols (EC) reflected those of emissions, resulting in only slight variability despite the changes in synopticscale meteorology. In accordance with these results, source apportionment simulations revealed that primary aerosols around Beijing were controlled by emissions within 100 km around Beijing within the preceding 24 h, while emissions as far as 500 km and within the preceding 3 days were found to affect secondary aerosols.

Advanced or recurrent pancreatic cancer can sometimes cause obstruction or stenosis of the portal vein (PV), resulting in various symptoms of portal hypertension (PH), such as ascites, pancytopenia, hemorrhagic tendencies and liver dysfunction. We placed an expandable metallic stent into the PV to improve PH-associated complications and liver function. The placement of the PV stent was beneficial for administering chemotherapeutic agents and radiotherapy (RT) safely, and resulted in an improved response rate (RR) and survival.In the present study, 14 patients with malignant portal obstruction due to advanced or recurrent pancreatic cancer received PV stent placement to manage their PH-associated symptoms. After a mini-laparotomy at the ileocecal region, the ileocecal vein was cut and an expandable metallic stent (6-8 mm in diameter and 6-8 cm in length) was inserted into the PV under image roentgenography. After placement of the PV stent, the patients received anti-coagulation treatment with heparin and biaspirin for 1-3 months. All patients received chemotherapy with UFT, cyclophosphamide (CPA) and gemcitabine (GEM), and 11 patients also received RT.The RR was 43% (3 complete (CR), 3 partial (PR), 3 stable disease (SD), and 5 progressive disease (PD)), and the mean survival times (MST) after the initiation of therapy or placement of the PV-stent were 12.6 and 9.5 months, respectively, while the 1-year survival rates were 54.5% and 35.1%, respectively. In the 3 CR patients, 2 died of carcinomatous ascites 13 and 21 months later, and 1 is still disease free. In the PR and SD patients, pain and PH-associated symptoms such as ascites and hyperglycemia were also improved.The placement of a PV stent is beneficial for improving PH-associated symptoms as well as facilitating chemo-RT and the efficacy of therapy.

Although many reports indicated an association between thyroid diseases and breast cancer, such an association still remains controversial. The present study was aimed to clarify the association of thyroid diseases with the breast cancer incidence. In the patients with benign and malignant thyroid tumor or tumor-like disorders, the incidence of other malignancies was surveyed, and the frequency of thyroid cancer in patients with breast cancer was also surveyed.Between 1982 and 2005, a total of 201 female patients received surgery for tumor or tumor-like disorders, including 65 carcinoma, 68 adenoma, 61 adenomatous goiter and 7 chronic thyroiditis cases. Their outcomes were surveyed in December 2006. Furthermore, during the same periods, 340 female patients underwent breast cancer surgery and their outcomes were also surveyed in December 2006.The overall incidence rate of breast cancer was 16.4% (33/201) in the patients, who received thyroid surgeries and was much higher than other malignancies: 2.0% gastric cancer, 1.0% uterine and colorectal cancer. The incidence rate of breast cancer in each disease was 13.8% for thyroid cancer, 16.2% for adenoma and 21.3% for adenomatous goiter, but no incidence for chronic thyroiditis. On the other hand, in the patients with breast cancer during the same period in our department, the frequency of thyroid cancer was only 2.1% (7/340).It appears that thyroid cancer, adenoma and adenomatous goiter were associated with the risk of breast cancer, but chronic thyroiditis was not related.

[1] Quantitative evaluation of the performance of one of the most advanced mechanistic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) modules/models, the Model of Aerosol Dynamics, Reaction, Ionization, and Dissolution 2 (MADRID2) in the three-dimensional Models-3/Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ), in urban air is made. Model calculations are compared for the Tokyo, Japan, metropolitan area with measurements made using an Aerodyne quadrupole aerosol mass spectrometer (Q-AMS) at an urban site for 9 days in July and August 2003. In general, model calculations reproduced absolute values and temporal variations of meteorological parameters, C2–C8 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), NOx (NO + NO2), inorganic aerosols, and O3 concentrations reasonably well at this site. However, model-calculated SOA concentrations are a factor of 5 smaller than observed oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA) concentrations, and calculated total organic aerosol (OA = SOA + primary organic aerosol) concentrations are smaller by a factor of 2, indicating missing processes or sources in the current organic aerosol model calculations. On the other hand, observed features of diurnal and day-to-day variations of OOA were captured by our model calculations. Because of the large quantity of unidentified total nonmethane VOCs (NMVOCs) in urban air, a possible contribution of SOA formation from high-molecular-weight VOCs is examined through simple sensitivity studies, in which emissions are increased to account for unidentified NMVOCs. It is found that they are potentially one of the missing SOA sources, demonstrating the importance of reliable measurements of high-molecular-weight VOCs and total NMVOCs. Relationships between SOA and O3, including regional (∼150 × 150 km2) enhancements around the Tokyo metropolitan area, are also discussed.

(SO4� ) aerosols were 1.2 ± 0.8 mgC m � 3 , 4.2 ± 1.6 mgC m � 3 , 1.3 ± 1.0 mgC m � 3 , and 4.0 ± 3.4 m gm � 3 , respectively. Almost all species concentrations were highest in Chinese air masses, while they were lowest in marine air masses. The observed DBC/DCO slope of 9.7 ng m � 3 ppbv � 1 in Chinese outflow agrees reasonably with the estimates of the BC/CO emission ratios over northeastern China. The transport efficiencies of SOx (SO2 +S O4� ) are calculated to be 40–45% from the observed SOx-CO correlation. The relationships of the SO4� /BC and WSOC/BC ratios with transport time from the continent suggest that a majority of SO4� and WSOC aerosols were formed by about

Ozone mixing ratios were measured by ozonesondes on board balloons launched from Esrange, near Kiruna, Sweden (68 deg N, 20 deg E) from January 11 to February 9, 1990. The data obtained prior to a sudden warming on February 7, 1990 show that at potential temperatures between 460 and 640 K, the ozone mixing ratio just inside the polar vortex was systematically smaller than that outside, the largest difference being 29 percent at around 525 K. The ozone mixing ratio at 525 K inside the vortex decreased at a rate of about 1.5 percent per day between January 26 and February 4. The temperatures simultaneously observed were quite often low enough to allow for formation of nitric acid trihydrate particles around this altitude. Depletion of ozone due to highly perturbed chemical conditions in late January and early February is strongly suggested.

[1] Measurements of the major reactive nitrogen species (NOy)i (NOx, peroxyacyl nitrates, HNO3, and particulate nitrate (NO3−)), total reactive nitrogen (NOy), volatile organic compounds, OH and HO2, and organic aerosol were made near the urban center of Tokyo in different seasons of 2003–2004 to study the processes involving oxidized forms of reactive nitrogen and O3. Generally, NOx constituted the dominant fraction of NOy throughout the seasons. The NOx/NOy and HNO3/NOy ratios were lowest and highest, respectively, in summer, owing to the seasonally high OH concentration. The fraction of NOy that remained in the atmosphere after emission (RNOy) decreased with the decrease in the NOx/NOy ratio in summer and fall. It is likely that the median seasonal-diurnal variations of Ox = O3 + NO2 were controlled by those of the background O3 levels, photochemical O3 formation, and vertical transport. Ox showed large increases during midday under stagnant conditions in mid-August 2004. Their in situ production rates calculated by a box model were too slow to explain the observed increases. The high Ox was likely due to the accumulation of Ox from previous days in the upper part of the boundary layer (BL) followed by transport down to near the surface by mixing after sunrise. Considering the tight correlation between Ox and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), it is likely that SOA also accumulated during the course of sea-land breeze circulation in the BL.

[1] Net photochemical production rates of oxidant (Ox = O3 + NO2), F-D(Ox), were determined in Tokyo during the winter and summer of 2004 using observed and calculated HO2 radical concentrations. In both cases, calculated RO2 (organic peroxy) radical concentrations were used. The rates calculated using the two HO2 data sets are similar. In summer, morning F-D(Ox) values on smog days (those with midday O3 concentrations exceeding 100 ppbv) were higher than those on smog-free days (with typical midday O3 concentrations of 30 ppbv); however, the amount of ozone produced in a single day, as estimated by integrating F-D(Ox) over the daytime, was not significantly different for the two periods. This analysis suggests that the occurrence of smog events in the city center cannot readily be explained by day-to-day variations in the strength of in situ photochemistry. On smog days, the coupling of photochemistry and meteorology appears to be important, as air masses in which oxidants accumulated over successive days arrive at the city center at approximately midday, transported by land-sea breeze circulation. The average maximum daytime F-D(Ox) values in summer, 11 and 13 ppbv h−1 using observed and calculated HO2 levels, respectively, were only 1.5 and 2.2 times higher than those in winter (8 and 6 ppbv h−1). In winter, an underestimation of HO2 levels at high NO concentrations resulted in an underestimation of F-D(Ox) when calculated using modeled HO2. While the model predicted a volatile organic compounds (VOC)-limited regime for Ox production in winter, F-D(Ox) based on observed HO2 did not show features of the VOC-limited regime and only steadily increased with increasing NO mixing ratio, even when it exceeded 20 ppbv. In summer, the dependence of F-D(Ox) on nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and NOx concentrations was similar in the two cases, in which observed and calculated HO2 levels were used. A VOC-limited regime, predicted on smog-free days, changed to a NOx-limited regime on smog days. The F-D(Ox) values determined for Tokyo are also compared with values for other cities.

This paper presents some important aspects of the Rotating Biological Contactor. (1) Steady-state biofilm kinetics and its application to the design of an RBC aiming at nitrification : Using the proposed kinetics in which the flux of rate-limiting substrate is expressed as a function of the bulk substrate concentration, liquid boundary layer thickness, liquid film thickness, and molecular diffusion coefficient and intrinsic reaction rate of the substrate, the relationship between the bulk ammonia concentration and ammonia flux was predicted at various sizes and rotating speeds of disk. Experimental verification of the predicted results was also made. A new disk media, i.e., reticulated media with surface protrusions,was proposed to promote the external diffusion of soluble substrates to the biofilm, and to reduce the disk weight. (2) Simultaneous removal of the detached biomass and precipitated phosphorous in a two-storey RBC:A two-storey RBC, whose upper and lower parts function as the RBC trough and storage space of the detached biomass, was operated in a four-staged unit. Experimental investigation showed that the phosphorus precipitated by aluminium was adsorbed to the biofilm, and settled into the lower part as the detached biomass. The removal efficiency of the detached biomass was very high resulting in an effluent suspended solids concentration of about 10 ppm.

[1] Semicontinuous measurements of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and organic carbon (OC) in PM2.5 were made at Gosan, Korea, in March-April 2005. On average, the WSOC/OC mass ratio for all air masses observed at Gosan was 0.30 ± 0.12. WSOC correlated well with CO (r2 = 0.54) in Chinese outflow, suggesting that a major part of the observed WSOC and/or their precursors was of combustion origin. The relationship between the increase of WSOC and O3 suggests that the observed WSOC was mostly secondary product. To interpret the measured organic compounds, thermal analyses of organic standards were made in the laboratory. Thermograms of a single standard of water-soluble organic species showed that carbon that evolved at high temperatures (600°–870°C) was generally associated with water-soluble compounds having high molecular weights (MWs) on the order of hundreds, while carbon that evolved at low temperatures (

[1] We used laser-induced fluorescence to measure the concentrations of OH and HO2 radicals in central Tokyo during two intensive campaigns (IMPACT IV and IMPACT L) in January–February and July–August 2004. The estimated detection limit for the 10-min data was 1.3 × 105 cm−3 for the nighttime and 5.2 × 105 cm−3 for the daytime. The median values of the daytime peak concentrations of HO2 were 1.1 and 5.7 pptv for the winter and summer periods, respectively, while the values for OH were 1.5 × 106 and 6.3 × 106 cm−3. High HO2 mixing ratios (>50 pptv) were observed on a day in summer when O3 mixing ratios exceeded 100 ppbv. The average nighttime concentrations of HO2 were 0.7 and 2.6 pptv for the winter and summer periods, respectively, while the values for OH were 1.8 × 105 and 3.7 × 105 cm−3. A photochemical box model constrained by ancillary observations was able to reproduce daytime OH concentrations reasonably well for both periods, although daytime HO2 concentrations were underestimated in winter and overestimated in summer. Increasing the wintertime hydrocarbon concentrations in the model led to an increase in daytime HO2 concentrations, thereby showing better agreement with observations; however, the model continued to underestimate HO2 concentrations at high NO mixing ratios. This underestimate was most pronounced in the mornings of both periods and during the daytime in winter. We studied processes that are capable of explaining this discrepancy, including unknown reactions of HNO4 or an unidentified HOx source that is linearly scalable to the NO mixing ratio. The important processes in terms of producing radicals were the olefin + O3 reactions in the nighttime of both periods and during the daytime in winter, the photolysis of carbonyls in the daytime for both periods, and the photolysis of HONO during the daytime in winter (using measured HONO concentrations) and during mornings in summer (using estimated HONO concentrations).

[1] The Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment phase C (BIBLE-C) aircraft mission was carried out near Darwin, Australia (12°S, 131°E) in December 2000. This was the first aircraft experiment designed to estimate lightning NO production rates in the tropics, where production is considered to be most intense. During the two flights (flights 10 and 13 made on December 9 and 11–12, respectively) enhancements of NOx (NO + NO2) up to 1000 and 1600 parts per trillion by volume (pptv, 10-s data) were observed at altitudes between 11.5 and 14 km. The Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS) cloud (brightness temperature) data and ground-based lightning measurements by the Global Positioning and Tracking System (GPATS) indicate that there were intensive lightning events over the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, which took place upstream from our measurement area 10 to 14 h prior to the measurements. For these two flights, air in which NOx exceeded 100 pptv extended over 620 × 140 and 400 × 170 km2 (wind direction × perpendicular direction), respectively, suggesting a significant impact of lightning NO production on NOx levels in the tropics. We estimate the amount of NOx observed between 11.5 and 14 km produced by the thunderstorms to be 3.3 and 1.8 × 1029 NO molecules for flights 10 and 13, respectively. By using the GPATS lightning flash count data, column NO production rates are estimated to be 1.9–4.4 and 21–49 × 1025 NO molecules per single flash for these two flight data sets. In these estimations, it is assumed that the column NO production between 0 and 16 km is greater than the observed values between 11.5 and 14 km by a factor of 3.2, which is derived using results reported by Pickering et al. (1998). There are however large uncertainties in the GPATS lightning data in this study and care must be made when the production rates are referred. Uncertainties in these estimates are discussed. The impact on the ozone production rate is also described.

[1] Measurements of NOY condensation on cirrus particles found in stratospherically influenced air sampled during the SOLVE-I mission are analyzed and compared with data from other field studies of HNO3 or NOY condensation on ice. Each field study exhibits an order of magnitude data spread for constant HNO3 pressures and temperatures. While others assumed this distribution is due to random error, the data spread exceeds instrument precision errors and instead suggests HNO3 removal had not attained equilibrium at the time of sampling. During the SOLVE-I mission, condensation on ice was a significant sink for HNO3 despite submonolayer surface coverages; we therefore propose condensation of HNO3 on lower-stratospheric cirrus particles is controlled by kinetics and will occur at a kinetically limited rate. Furthermore, we suggest the low accommodation coefficient for HNO3 on ice combined with relatively short-lived clouds causes highly scattered, limited HNO3 uptake on cirrus particles. We couple laboratory data on the accommodation coefficient of HNO3 on ice with field surface coverage data in order to generate a “cloud clock”: a calculation to determine the age of a cloud parcel. Data from the aforementioned field studies are compared to theoretical models for equilibrium surface coverage on the basis of laboratory data extrapolated to atmospheric temperatures and HNO3 pressures. This comparison is difficult because most of the atmospheric data are probably not at equilibrium and follow a condensation time curve rather than an equilibrium surface coverage curve. Finally, we develop a simple mathematical solution for the time required for HNO3 condensation on ice.

0.63within12hours(h),namely2.3%h 1 ,afterbeingemitted from the Nagoya urban area in Japan. BC particles with a core diameter of 250 nm increased at the slower rate of 1.0% h 1 . The increase in coated BC particles was associated with increases in non-sea salt sulfate and water-soluble organic carbon by a factor of approximately two, indicating that these compounds contributed to the coating on the BC particles. These results give direct evidence that BC particles become internally mixed on a time scale of 12 h in urban plumes. Citation: Moteki, N., Y. Kondo, Y. Miyazaki, N. Takegawa, Y. Komazaki, G. Kurata, T. Shirai, D. R. Blake, T. Miyakawa, and M. Koike (2007), Evolution of mixing state of black carbon particles: Aircraft measurements over the western Pacific in March 2004,Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L11803, doi:10.1029/2006GL028943.

The present study assesses the effects of neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with uracil and tegafur (UFT) alone vs UFT plus cyclophosphamide (CPA), on the activity of thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) in breast cancer tissues. Breast cancer patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups; the control (no-treatment) group (n=13), the UFT (5-8 mg/kg/day) alone group (n=10) and the UFT plus CPA (1 mg/kg/one day interval) (UC) group (n=9), and they received NAC for 2-4 weeks. A total of 32 invasive ductal breast carcinomas were used to assay for TS and DPD activity. There were no statistically significant differences in tumor size or stage classification between the 3 groups. The DPD activity was inversely and significantly correlated with the tumor size and pT, but the TS activity was not correlated with these clinicopathological factors. The TS activity was decreased by NAC with UFT, and the addition of CPA resulted in an increased inhibition of TS activity. In contrast, DPD activity was increased by NAC with UFT administration, but its increased activity was significantly inhibited by the addition of CPA. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the total dose of UFT was a significant variable for inhibiting TS activity, and that CPA was a significant variable for inhibiting DPD activity. The DPD activity increased by UFT can be inhibited by CPA, and this may represent one of the possible mechanisms responsible for the anti-tumor activity of 5-FU or its derivatives as enhanced by CPA.

[1] Measurements of NOY condensation on cirrus particles during the SOLVE-I field campaign are analyzed and segregated based on altitude. Significant amounts of NOY were found on the upper tropospheric ice particles; therefore condensation on ice appears to be an important method of NOY removal from the gas phase at the low temperatures of the Scandinavian upper troposphere. For the data set collected on 23 January 2000, NOY condensation on cirrus particles has different properties depending on whether the ice particles are sampled in the upper troposphere, where HNO3 does not dominate NOY, or in the lower stratosphere, where HNO3 does dominate NOY. Nitric acid becomes enriched in the gas phase as NOY condenses on upper tropospheric ice crystals, indicating that a non-HNO3 component of NOY is condensing on upper tropospheric ice particles much faster and at higher concentrations than HNO3 alone on this day. It is unclear which non-HNO3 constituent of NOY is condensing on upper tropospheric ice particles, although N2O5 is the most likely species. This condensation of a non-HNO3 component of NOY is not universal in the upper troposphere but depends on the conditions of the air parcel in which sampling occurred, notably exposure to sunlight.

The clinicopathological significance of HER-1- and HER-2-overexpressions (OE) (HercepTest score 2+ or 3+) in biliary cancer and their relationship to the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) were assessed. In 72 biliary cancer (28 gallbladder and 44 bile duct cancer), HER-1 and HER-2 were stained immunohistochemically in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens. The ACT included uracil and tegafur (UFT)-based chemotherapies. Out of the 72 cancer, OE was observed in 31 specimens (43%) for HER-1 and 47 (65%) for HER-2. However, their OEs were not correlated with each other. HER-2-OE was inversely correlated with the clinical stage (p=0.0482). HER-1-OE was correlated with distant metastasis (p=0.0263), but not with the clinical stage. Neither the OE of HER-1 or HER-2, nor their co-expression, showed any significant effect in term of patient survival. In the HER-1-OE (-) patients, the survival rate of the ACT group was significantly higher than that of the surgery-alone (SA) group (p=0.0423), but in the HER-1-OE (+) patients, there was no statistical difference in survival rate between the ACT and the SA group. In contrast, HER-2-OE had no significant effect on the efficacy of ACT. Multivariate analysis also demonstrated that the histological grade and ACT were significant variables, but T, N, M and HER-1 and HER-2 were not significant variables. In conclusion, neither HER-1-OE or HER-2-OE were prognostic factors of the biliary cancer. However, HER-1-OE may be a useful marker for the indication of ACT.

Pancreatic acinar cell carcinomas are rare, and little is reported on their chemotherapy. We report a 49-year old male patient with pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma and multiple liver metastases, which responded to oral TS-1 and hepatic arterial infusion of cisplatin. The patient underwent a partial hepatectomy, MCT abrasions and excision of the pancreatic tumor. Postoperative pathological studies revealed metastases of acinar cell carcinoma to the liver and lymph nodes; the primary lesion was undetermined. After surgery, the patient was treated with hepatic arterial infusion of cisplatin and oral TS-1. Metastatic tumors completely disappeared, and serum lipase decreased to normal levels. Abdominal CT one year after surgery revealed a pancreatic body tumor, which was surgically removed. Pathological studies showed primary pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma, while previous metastases remained under control. To summarize, TS-1 and cisplatin can be effective treatments for pancreatic acinar cell carcinomas.

[1] Mass concentrations of elemental carbon (EC) in fine mode and mixing ratios of carbon monoxide (CO) were measured at the University of Tokyo campus in Tokyo in different seasons in 2003–2005. Measurements of EC were made using a semicontinuous thermal-optical analyzer. The mass concentrations of nonvolatile aerosol measured by the calibrated scanning mobility particle sizer combined with a heated inlet agreed with the independent EC measurements with a systematic difference of about 4%, demonstrating that the mass concentrations of nonvolatile aerosol well represent those for EC. A majority of the nonvolatile aerosol and therefore EC mass concentration was in volume equivalent diameters between 50 and 200 nm, peaking at around 130 nm. The correlation of EC and CO was generally compact throughout the measurement period because of the similarity in sources. The slope of the EC-CO correlation (ΔEC/ΔCO) is therefore a useful parameter in validating EC emission inventories. The EC concentration and ΔEC/ΔCO showed distinct diurnal variation. On weekdays, EC and ΔEC/ΔCO reached maximum values of about 3 μg m−3 and 9 ng m−3/parts per billion by volume, respectively, in the early morning (0400–0800 local time), when the traffic density of heavy-duty trucks with diesel engines was highest. In addition, these values were lower by a factor of 2 on Sundays. The heavy truck traffic showed similar diurnal and weekday/weekend variations, indicating that exhaust from diesel engines is an important source of EC. Monthly mean ΔEC/ΔCO showed a seasonal variation, reaching broad maximum values in spring-autumn and reaching minimum values in midwinter, following the seasonal variation in temperature, as observed in Maryland, United States (Chen et al., 2001). This temperature dependence is likely due to the temperature dependence of EC emissions from diesel engines on intake air temperature. More stringent regulation of emissions of particles from diesel cars started in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in October 2003. The ΔEC/ΔCO values did not change, however, exceeding the natural variability (10%) after 1 year from the start of the new regulations, when the temperature dependence is taken into account. This indicates that the regulation of particle emissions in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area was not effective in reducing the EC concentrations after 1 year.

[1] Ground-based measurements of aerosols and trace gases were conducted at an urban site in Tokyo (Komaba) and a site 50 km to the north (Kisai) during July–August 2004. An Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) was deployed at each measurement site to investigate the chemical evolution of submicron organic aerosol (OA) in polluted air. The mass concentrations of OA at the Kisai site were systematically higher than those at the Komaba site and were correlated with ozone under southerly conditions. The rate of increase of OA at the Kisai site is investigated using the photochemical age derived from the ratio of alkyl nitrates to their parent hydrocarbons. The OA concentrations in processed air (age of 8–16 h) were 4–5 times larger than those in fresh emissions (age ∼ 0), suggesting that the OA concentrations can be significantly enhanced within ∼0.5 days under conditions of high photochemical activity.

Small cell cancer of the stomach is rare, accounting for 0.06 to 0.95% of all gastric cancers with no established treatment although it grows fast and has poor prognosis. In this study, we experienced a mixed case of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma and Thyroid transcription factor-1 (hereinafter, referred to as TTF-1)–positive small cell carcinoma. A 75-year old man seen for abdominal bloating was found in upper gastrointestinal endoscopy to have a Borrmann 0-IIa + IIc type lesion of approximately 1 cm at the lesser curvature of the gastric antrum. Biopsy yielded a diagnosis of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Endoscopic submucosal dissection was performed and gastric cancer comprising both well-differentiated adenocarcinoma within the mucous membrane and small cell carcinoma invading to the submucosa accompanying lymphatic and blood vessel invasion was found. According to immunostaining, the small cell carcinoma was Chromogranin A-positive, Synaptophysin-positive, and diffusibly TTF-1-positive; however, no apparent tumor lesions were observed in other organs including the lung, there were no findings indicating any distant metastasis of the gastric cancer, and so distal gastrectomy and lymph node dissection were carried out. There was no remaining cancer in the resected specimen and lymph node metastasis was not observed. Postoperative prognosis is good and the patient is followed up without undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy; he is currently alive without relapse 5 months following gastrectomy. There is a report that the TTF-1-positive rate in lung adenocarcinoma was higher in well-differentiated tumors than undifferentiated tumors. TTF-1-positive small cell cancer of the stomach is very rare; the TTF-1-positive rate may contribute to the prediction of prognosis and treatment selection, and so we believe that accumulation of cases is very important.

The receptor tyrosine kinase c-kit is known to play an important role in the progression of gastrointestinal stromal tumors, but its biological significance in other solid malignancies is unclear. Recent publications have suggested a regulatory role for TGF-beta1 in c-kit-mediated cell growth. The present study assessed the clinicopathological significance of c-kit protein (KIT) and TGF-beta1 expression in resectable invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) of the pancreas.This study included 91 pancreatic IDC patients who received a pancreatectomy between 1982 and 2003. The expression of KIT and TGF-beta1 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.KIT and TGF-beta1 were expressed in 77% (70/91) and 59% (54/91) of the IDC, respectively. The expression of KIT was not correlated with that of TGF-beta1. TGF-beta1 expression correlated inversely with nodal involvement, but KIT expression did not correlate with any clinicopathological factors. KIT expression had no significant influence on the survival of the patients, whereas the survival rate of TGF-beta1 (+) IDC patients was significantly higher than that of TGF-beta1 (-) IDC patients. Co-expression analysis of KIT and TGF-beta1 indicated that, in patients with KIT (+) IDC, the TGF-beta1 (+) group showed a significantly better survival rate than the TGF-beta1 (-) group. Neither KIT expression nor TGF-beta1 expression had a significant effect on the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT). In multivariate analysis, TGF-beta1 expression was one of the significant variables for survival in IDC patients overall, but KIT expression was not.TGF-beta1 expression is suggested to have a significant influence on c-kit-mediated cell proliferation in human pancreatic IDCs.

The present study assessed the anti-tumor effects and clinical benefits of intravenous (i.v.) or intra-arterial (i.a.) gemcitabine (GEM) at low dose plus oral chemotherapy with uracil-tegafur (UFT) and cyclophosphamide (CPA) in combination with radiotherapy (RT) against recurrent and advanced pancreatic cancers. A total of 22 patients with 15 advanced or 7 recurrent pancreatic cancer were enrolled. The target lesions included 15 primary tumors, 9 liver metastases, 3 local recurrences, 1 lung metastasis and 1 pleural effusion. The patients were each given GEM at 200-400 mg weekly or biweekly, UFT at 300 mg/day daily and CPA at 50 mg/day every other day in combination with RT at a total dose of 40-60 Gy. The primary efficacy measures were the overall response rate (RR) and survival. Furthermore, the clinical benefit response (CBR) was classified by measuring the pain intensity, analgesic consumption, Karnofsky performance status and body weight. The regimen was well tolerated, and the major side effects included anorexia, general malaise and myelo-suppression. In each case, dose reduction was effective in resolving these side effects. The dose limiting side effect was thrombocytopenia. Eleven patients received i.v. GEM alone, 6 patients received i.a. GEM alone and 5 patients received both. The objective responses were evaluated in all patients, and the overall RR was 27% (2 complete responses, 4 partial responses, 6 stable diseases and 10 progressive diseases). A CBR was experienced in 22.7% of the patients. The mean survival period was 10.6 months (2-20 months), and the 1-year survival rate was 42.2%. There were no differences in RR and survival among the different administration methods of GEM. In conclusion, i.v. or i.a. GEM at low dose, UFT and CPA in combination with RT is a well-tolerated regimen with beneficial clinical efficacy, and is worthy of further study.

The retinoblastoma protein (RB) is an important cell cycle regulator. RB also plays an important role in the regulation of apoptosis, which is mediated by interaction of p53 signaling mediators. The present study was designed to assess the clinicopathological significance of RB and p53 pathway-related proteins (p53, p21WAF1/CIP1 and Bax) expression in resectable invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the pancreas.The present study included 79 pancreatic IDC patients, who received surgery between 1982 and 2002. The expression of RB and p53 pathway-related proteins (p53, p21WAF1/CIP1 and Bax) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry.RB was expressed in 45 (57%) of the 79 patients. RB expression correlated significantly with histological grade and grade of nodal involvement. The positive rate of p53, p21WAF1/CIP1 and Bax expression was 49%, 48% and 67%, respectively. RB expression alone did not have a significant effect on patient survival. However, coexpression analysis of RB and p53 pathway-related proteins indicated that, in the patients with RB (+) IDC, the p21WAF1/CIP1 (+) group had a significantly higher survival rate than the p21WAF1/CIP1 (-) group. On the other hand, in the patients with RB (-) IDC, the Bax (+) group had a significantly higher survival rate than the Bax (-) group. Multivariate analysis indicated that, in the RB (-) group, pTNM stage, adjuvant chemotherapy and Bax expression were significant variables.The evaluation of RB expression combined with the mediators of the p53 pathway, p21WAF1/CIP1 and Bax, may provide more accurate information regarding clinical outcome, beyond that which is provided by RB expression alone.

[1] Simultaneous measurements of speciated, total reactive nitrogen (NOy) and particulate NO3 (particle diameter

[1] We examine the variability of ClO in the Arctic upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere (UTLS) during the winter of 1999–2000. Data are binned relative to NOy, a species that is a proxy for photochemical age and a photochemical source of NOx. Enhancements in the [ClO]/[Cly] ratio relative to values expected from gas-phase chemistry alone were observed throughout the region and were largest in the coldest sampled regions, where T < 208 K. At low NOy values, where particles containing NOy and water were often detected, twilight ClO abundances in the afternoon were nearly a factor of 3 larger than those in the morning. At higher NOy values, where much lower particle surface areas were measured, ClO abundances in morning twilight were somewhat larger than those in the afternoon. These observations are consistent with a daytime mechanism of rapid heterogeneous activation of inorganic chlorine in particle-rich, low-NOy regions, with slower deactivation in relatively particle-poor, higher-NOy regions of the lowermost stratosphere. While the data clearly show widespread chlorine activation, knowledge of the precise value of the [ClO]/[Cly] ratio is limited because of the lack of available data on inorganic chlorine species, notably HCl, believed to be the dominant reservoir of inorganic chlorine at these altitudes.

[1] The Pacific Exploration of Asian Continental Emission phase B (PEACE-B) aircraft mission was conducted over the western Pacific during April–May 2002. During several flights, large enhancements of CO greater than 200 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) were observed at altitudes between 5 and 10 km. In this paper, we describe vertical transport mechanisms over east Asia that were responsible for these enhancements, using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) meteorological data and infrared cloud data obtained by the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS)-5. A case study for the highest CO event shows that it was likely due to vertical transport of pollutants caused by deep cumulus convection along a quasi-stationary frontal zone, which was formed over central China (around the Yangtze River at 30°N). In the mean meteorological field during the PEACE-B period, the warm, moist low-level southerlies converged into the frontal zone, sustaining cross-frontal temperature and moisture contrasts. Along the frontal zone, the mean vertical motion was distinctively upward, and a subtropical jet aloft was found to transport uplifted air parcels efficiently into the western Pacific. In this study, criteria to identify deep convection are defined using both the ECMWF and GMS data. The results show that convective activity, which was generally high below the subtropical jet, played an important role in producing updrafts over central China. The convective transport resulted mainly from a limited number of episodes, each of which followed the development of a weak cyclonic disturbance. Back trajectories of air parcels sampled at altitudes between 4 and 13 km on board the aircraft during PEACE-B show that among the air parcels originating from the 800-hPa level or below, 69% were likely to have undergone convective uplifting. In addition to convection, sloping isentropes often observed along the quasi-stationary jet axis yielded persistent slow quasi-adiabatic uplifting of air over the Far East, which was occasionally intensified with a classical warm conveyor belt (WCB) airstream on the passage of migratory cyclonic disturbances. Meteorological conditions during PEACE-B were thus favorable for the uplifting of boundary layer air influenced by anthropogenic emissions over central China. These results are consistent with the relatively high levels of Halon 1211 (CF2ClBr), a good tracer of Chinese anthropogenic emissions, observed in the air parcels that were likely uplifted in the frontal zone.

[1] We examine the ozone production efficiency in transpacific Asian pollution plumes, and the implications for ozone air quality in California, by using aircraft and surface observations in April–May 2002 from the Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation 2002 (ITCT 2K2) campaign off the California coast and the Pacific Exploration of Asian Continental Emission–B (PEACE-B) campaign over the northwest Pacific. The observations are interpreted with a global three-dimensional chemical transport model (GEOS-CHEM). The model reproduces the mean features observed for CO, reactive nitrogen oxides (NOy), and ozone but underestimates the strong (20 ppbv) stratospheric contribution to ozone in the middle troposphere. The ITCT 2K2 aircraft sampled two major transpacific Asian pollution plumes, one on 5 May at 5–8 km altitude with CO up to 275 ppbv but no elevated ozone and one on 17 May at 2.5–4 km altitude with CO up to 225 ppbv and ozone up to 90 ppbv. We show that the elevated ozone in the latter plume is consistent with production from peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN) decomposition during subsidence of the plume over the northeast Pacific. This production is particularly efficient because of the strong radiation and low humidity of the subsiding environment. We argue that such PAN decomposition represents a major and possibly dominant component of the ozone enhancement in transpacific Asian pollution plumes. Strong dilution of Asian pollution plumes takes place during entrainment in the U.S. boundary layer, greatly reducing their impact at U.S. surface sites. California mountain sites are more sensitive to Asian pollution because of their exposure to the free troposphere. Model results indicate a mean Asian pollution enhancement of 7 ppbv ozone at Sequoia National Park in May 2002 on those days when the 8-hour average ozone concentration exceeded 80 ppbv. INDEX TERMS: 0368 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—constituent transport and chemistry; 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry; 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution—urban and regional (0305); KEYWORDS: ozone, Asian pollution, ITCT 2K2, PEACE-B, transpacific transport

A 43-year-old woman underwent breast-conserving therapy for right breast cancer with multiple liver metastases (pT3N3aM1, stage IV, ER (-), PgR (-), HER2 (3+)), in November, 2002. Following surgery, she received combination chemotherapy using hepatic arterial infusion of docetaxel and systemic administration of trastuzumab weekly. During therapy, no serious side effects and only grade 1 nausea were observed; after 3 courses, therapy was safely continued on an outpatient basis. Metastatic liver tumors responded to the treatment, and they completely disappeared on an abdominal CT 5 months later. In addition, all elevated tumor markers in serum decreased to the normal range. No new metastatic or recurrent lesions were found 14 months after surgery. We conclude that this combination chemotherapy is safe and may be very useful for the treatment of breast cancer patients with liver metastasis.

Various forms of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) have been applied in the treatment of gastric cancer. The present study was designed to assess the survival benefits of NAC with UFT (tegafur plus uracil) for gastric cancer, as a randomized consent trial as described by Zelen.The present study included 295 patients with resectable gastic cancer between 1991 and 1999. After the patients had been pre-randomized into two groups, a control (no-NAC) group (n=120) and a treatment group (n=175), the treatment group patients were then further stratified into two groups, namely those who wished to join the control group and those who wished to receive NAC with UFT (NAC-UFT group). Patient outcome was surveyed in January 2003.Randomization did not necessarily result in an appropriate registration of the patients, and ultimately 193 patients were included in the control group and 102 patients received NAC-UFT. The NAC-UFT was well tolerated by the patients and side-effects were not severe. However, the NAC-UFT group included the patients with significantly higher stages of cancers than the control group. The survival benefit of NAC-UFT was seen in stage 2 or 3 patients, and multivariate analysis also revealed that NAC-UFT was a significant prognostic variable, as were pT, pN, M and the level of nodal dissection, but patient age, gentler and histological grade were not significant variables.NAC-UFT may be beneficial in the improvement of survival rate after gastric cancer surgery and this treatment modality is worthy of further study with a larger patient sample size.

[1] Measurements of total reactive nitrogen (NOy) concentrations in the gas and aerosol phases were made on board the NASA DC-8 aircraft within 1 km above the Arctic tropopause in February 2000. As temperatures decreased, NOy was taken up into the background sulfate aerosols. The observed temperature-dependent NOy uptake agrees well with that calculated from a model of nitric acid (HNO3) uptake to form liquid HNO3/H2O/H2SO4 ternary droplets. The observations reported here provide the first direct evidence for the formation of ternary droplets in the Arctic tropopause region.

Carbon monoxide abundances in the atmosphere have been measured between January 1996 and December 2001 in the high Northern Hemisphere (HNH) (30degrees-90degreesN) using two different approaches: total column amounts of CO retrieved from infrared solar spectra and CO mixing ratios measured in situ at ground-based stations. The data were averaged, and anomalies of the CO HNH burden ( deviations of the total tropospheric mass between 30degreesN and 90degreesN from the mean seasonal profile, determined as the 5 year average) were analyzed. The anomalies obtained from in situ and total column data agree well and both show two maxima, by far the largest in October 1998 and a lower one in August 1996. A noticeable decrease of the positive 1998 summer anomaly with increasing height was found. A box model was applied, and anomalies in source rates were obtained under the assumption of insignificant interannual sink variations. In August 1998 the HNH emission anomaly was estimated to be 38 Tg month(-1). The annual 1998 emission positive anomaly was 96 Tg yr(-1). Nearly all excess CO may be attributed to the emissions from boreal forest fires. According to available inventories, biomass burning emits around 52 Tg yr(-1) during the "normal'' years; therefore total biomass emissions in 1998 were as large as 148 Tg yr(-1). In August 1998, CO contribution from the biomass burning was twice as large as that from fossil fuel combustion. The results were compared to available emission inventories.

[1] Aircraft measurements of ozone (O3) and its precursors (reactive nitrogen, CO, nonmethane hydrocarbons) were made over the western Pacific during the Transport and Chemical Evolution Over the Pacific (TRACE-P) campaign, which was conducted during February–April 2001. Biomass burning activity was high over Southeast Asia (SEA) during this period (dry season), and convective activity over SEA frequently transported air from the boundary layer to the free troposphere, followed by eastward transport to the sampling region over the western Pacific south of 30� N. This data set allows for systematic investigations of the chemical and physical processes in the outflow from SEA. Methyl chloride (CH3Cl) and CO are chosen as primary and secondary tracers, respectively, to gauge the degree of the impact of emissions of trace species from biomass burning. Biomass burning is found to be a major source of reactive nitrogen (NOx, PAN, HNO3, and nitrate) and O3 in this region from correlations of these species with the tracers. Changes in the abundance of reactive nitrogen during upward transport are quantified from the altitude change of the slopes of the correlations of these species with CO. NOx decreased with altitude due to its oxidation to HNO3. On the other hand, PAN was conserved during transport from the lower to the middle troposphere, consistent with its low water solubility and chemical stability at low temperatures. Large losses of HNO3 and nitrate, which are highly water soluble, occurred in the free troposphere, most likely due to wet removal by precipitation. This has been shown to be the major pathway of NOy loss in the middle troposphere. Increases in the mixing ratios of O3 and its precursors due to biomass burning in SEA are estimated using the tracers. Enhancements of CO and total reactive nitrogen (NOy), which are directly emitted from biomass burning, were largest at 2–4 km. At this altitudetheincreasesinNOyandO3were810partspertrillionbyvolume(pptv)and26parts per billion by volume (ppbv) above their background values of 240 pptv and 31 ppbv, respectively. The slope of the O3-CO correlation in biomass burning plumes was similar to those observed in fire plumes in northern Australia, Africa, and Canada. The O3 production efficiency (OPE) derived from the O3-CO slope and NOx/CO emission ratio (ER) is shown to be positively correlated with the C2H4/NOx ER, indicating that the C2H4/NOx ER is a critical parameter in determining the OPE. Comparison of the net O3 flux across the western Pacific region and total O3 production due to biomass burning in

[1] We construct global atmospheric budgets of HCN and CH3CN through a three-dimensional (3-D) model simulation of the HCN-CH3CN-CO system constrained and evaluated with aircraft observations from the Transport and Chemical Evolution Over the Pacific (TRACE-P) mission over the NW Pacific in February–April 2001. Observed background vertical gradients of HCN and CH3CN imply a dominant ocean sink for both gases, with deposition velocity of 0.13 cm s−1 for both and saturation ratios of 0.79 for HCN and 0.88 for CH3CN. Observations for both gases in the free troposphere imply a dominant source from biomass burning. Enhancement of HCN observed in Chinese urban plumes is attributed tentatively to residential coal burning. Biomass burning and residential coal burning emission ratios relative to CO of 0.27% and 1.6%, respectively, for HCN, and of 0.20% and 0.25%, respectively, for CH3CN, are consistent with observations in biomass burning and Chinese urban plumes. They provide the best model simulation of the ensemble of TRACE-P observations including vertical profiles and HCN-CH3CN-CO correlations. They also allow successful simulation of the long-term observations of HCN columns at sites in the Northern Hemisphere, and of the CH3CN vertical distribution observed over the northern Indian Ocean. Global biomass burning and Asian residential coal burning sources in the model are 0.63 and 0.2 Tg N yr−1, respectively, for HCN and 0.47 and 0.03 Tg N yr−1, respectively, for CH3CN. Ocean uptake is the dominant sink for both gases, with oxidation by OH representing an additional minor sink. The resulting tropospheric lifetimes are 5.3 months for HCN and 5.8 months for CH3CN. The model predicts very low HCN and CH3CN concentrations at high southern latitudes, reflecting the assumption of a uniform saturation ratio for ocean uptake; observations in that region are needed. In the free troposphere, the dominance of biomass burning sources (70–85% for HCN and 90–95% for CH3CN) implies that both gases can be used as biomass burning tracers. In the boundary layer, CH3CN appears to be a better biomass burning tracer. More work is needed to identify the origin of the Chinese urban source of HCN.

Obstructive jaundice is a terminal symptom of gastric cancer. A 45-year-old female patient had a recurrent gastric cancer at the pancreas head and it caused obstructive jaundice. She was treated with percutaneous transhepatic cholangio-drainage, followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy with cisplatin, epirubicin and 5-FU, which resulted in a prominent response and a self-expandable metallic stent was placed into the bile duct. After 11 months, however, the tumor recurred and the bile duct was obstructed again by an invading tumor. She was retreated with percutaneous transhepatic cholangio-drainage for jaundice, followed by chemotherapy with oral TS-1. Her recurrent tumor dramatically responded again, and cholangioscopic microwave coagulation therapy was applied for the first time through a cholangio-drainage route and an additional metallic stent was inserted into the bile duct. After these therapies she has been disease--free for more than 2 years. In conclusion, the placement of a self-expandable metallic stent in combination with cholangioscopic microwave coagulation therapy and TS-1 was very effective in managing the obstructive jaundice due to the local recurrence of gastric cancer.

One of the major changes in the new TNM classification (5th edition, 1997) for gastric cancer was made in the classification of N category: the 5th edition employs the number of involved nodes and a minimum of 15 examined nodes is required for N0 classification. The validity of the new TNM classification was assessed by comparing the survivals according to the number of nodal involvement and especially the cut-off point of number of involved nodes and the problems in N0 classification in T1 were focused.Between 1982 and 1999, a total of 641 patients underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer in our department. The stage and the degree of subcategories were classified according to the pathological assessment after surgery, and the survival and its correlation with clinicopathological factors were statistically analyzed.pT classification included 325 pT1, 103 pT2, 102 pT3 and 111 pT4 cases, while pN classification included 448 pN-classifiable cases (223 pNO, 149 pN1, 52 pN2 and 24 pN3); 193 were unclassifiable (pNx), 123 of which were classified pNx due to the examined lymph nodes being less than 15. In 448 pTNM-classifiable cases the pN2 and pN3 groups showed almost the same survivals, while the pN1 included subgroups with a significant difference in prognosis. The pN1 category should be classified into two categories: pN1a, 1-3 involved nodes and pN1b, 4-6 involved nodes. Furthermore, out of 325 pT1 cases, 151 (46.5%) were pN-unclassifiable (pNx): 123 were due to the examined number being less than 15 for pN0 classification and 28 where the number of examined nodes were not reported. Although the mean number of examined nodes in pT1 was 24.7 for pN0 and 8.3 for pNx, there were no differences in survival rates between the pT1pN0 group and the pT1pNx group. This suggests the over-requirement of the number of examined nodes for pN0 classification in pT1 cases. We propose that pN0 classification in pT1 should be required for a minimum of 6 examined nodes.The pN1 category should be subclassified into pN1a and pN1b. Furthermore, pN0 classification in pT1 should be required for a minimum of 6 examined nodes.

The implications of HER-2/neu overexpression for the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) and endocrine therapy (AET) have been controversial. The present study retrospectively assessed the effects of HER-2/neu overexpression on the efficacy of oral fluoropyrimidine-based ACT and AET after breast cancer surgery.The expression of HER-2/neu protein and estrogen receptor (ER) in 217 primary breast cancers was assessed immunohistochemically using the HercepTest and an anti-ER monoclonal antibody. The overexpression of HER-2/neu was classified into 4 categories (0-3+) according to standard criteria, and 3+ was categorized as HER-2/neu-overexpression. Of the 217 patients, 26 received surgery alone (SA), 32 received ACT, 20 received AET alone and 139 received both AET and ACT. The regimen of the ACT included oral fluoropyrimidines in all patients.HER-2/neu (3+) overexpression and ER expression were seen in 31.8% (69 out of 217) and 47.5% (103 out of 217) of the patients, respectively. The survival of the HER-2/neu (3+) group was significantly lower than other groups (p = 0.0134), especially in the ER (+) patients (p = 0.0229). However, in the ER (+) patients, HER-2/neu overexpression had no significant effect. The effects of HER-2/neu overexpression and ER expression on the efficacy of the ACT and AET were analyzed by patient survival. In the ER (-) patients, the ACT (+) group had a significantly higher survival rate than the ACT (-) group (p = 0.0459), and this was noted especially in the HER-2/neu-overexpressing cases (p = 0.0485). In the ER (+) patients, ACT and AET did not have any significant influence on the survival regardless of the HER-2/neu status.Fluoropyrimidines-based ACT improves the long-term outcome of patients with HER-2/neu-overexpression (3+) and ER (-) breast cancer after surgery.

The Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometer on board the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite first detected the onset of denitrification in the 1996/1997 Arctic winter stratosphere. Box model calculations along back trajectories are used to estimate the degree of denitrification caused by the formation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) particles followed by their growth and sedimentation. The calculated loss of reactive nitrogen explains well the observed loss, identifying the mechanism of large NAT particle formation causing Arctic denitrification.

[1] NOy (total reactive nitrogen) contained in ice particles was measured on board the NASA DC-8 aircraft in the Arctic in January and March 2000. During some of the flights, the DC-8 encountered widespread cirrus clouds. Large quantities of ice particles were observed at 8–12 km and particulate NOy showed large increases. The data indicate that the amount of NOy covering the cirrus ice particles strongly depended on temperature. Similar measurements were made in the upper troposphere over the tropical Pacific Ocean in August–September 1998 and 1999. The data obtained in the Arctic and tropics show very limited uptake of NOy on ice at temperatures above 215 K.

[i] Here we present measurements of a range of carbon-based compounds: carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH 4 ), nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), methyl halides, and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) emitted by Australian savanna fires studied as part of the Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment (BIBLE) phase B aircraft campaign, which took place during the local late dry season (28 August to 13 September 1999). Significant enhancements of short-lived NMHCs were observed in the boundary layer (BL) over the region of intensive fires and indicate recent emissions for which the mean transport time was estimated to be about 9 hours. Emission ratios relative to CO were determined for 20 NMHCs, 3 methyl halides, DMS, and CH 4 based on the BL enhancements in the source region. Tight correlations with CO were obtained for most of those compounds, indicating the homogeneity of the local savanna source. The emission ratios were in good agreement with some previous measurements of savanna fires for stable compounds but indicated the decay of emission ratios during transport for several reactive compounds. Based on the observed emission ratios, emission factors were derived and compared to previous studies. While emission factors (g species/kg dry mole) of CO 2 varied little according to the vegetation types, those of CO and NMHCs varied significantly. Higher combustion efficiency and a lower emission factor for methane in this study, compared to forest fires, agreed well with results for savanna fires in other tropical regions. The amount of biomass burned was estimated by modeling methods using available satellite data, and showed that 1999 was an above average year for savanna burning. The gross emissions of the trace gases from Australian savanna fires were estimated.

[1] Measurements of gaseous and particulate reactive nitrogen and sulfur species, as well as other chemical species, were made using the P-3B and DC-8 aircraft over the western Pacific during the NASA Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) experiment, conducted between February and April 2001. These measurements provide a good opportunity to study the extent to which anthropogenic NOx and SO2 emitted over the East Asian countries remain as NOy and SOx (=SO2 + nssSO42−) in the form of gas or fine particles when an air mass is transported into the western Pacific region. In this paper a method to estimate transport efficiencies, e(NOy) and e(SOx), in an air mass that has experienced multiple injection, mixing, and loss processes is described. In this analysis, CO and CO2 are used as passive tracers of transport, and the emission inventories of CO, CO2, NOx, and SO2 over the East Asia region are used. Results from the P-3B presented in this study indicate that 20–40% and 15% of NOx emitted over the northeastern part of China remained as NOy over the western Pacific in the boundary layer (BL) and free troposphere (FT), respectively. In the FT, PAN is found to have been the dominant form of NOy, while only 0.5% of emitted NOx remained as NOx. The transport efficiency of SOx is estimated to have been 25–45% and 15–20% in the BL and FT, respectively. Median values of the nssSO42−/SOx ratio are 0.4–0.6 both in the BL and FT, however large variability is found in the FT. These results are generally consistent with those derived using DC-8 data. The results obtained in this study indicate that more than half of NOy and SOx were lost over the continent and that the vertical transport from the BL to FT further reduced their amounts by a factor of 2, likely due to wet removal. Budgets of NOy and SOx were also studied for air masses, which we sampled during TRACE-P and the flux out from the continent in these cases is estimated to be 20% of the emissions. Flux in the BL and FT is found to have a similar contribution.

[1] Pathways of synoptic-scale uplifted transport of pollutants from East Asia and their effects on chemical distributions of NOy species are investigated based on a subset of the aircraft data obtained during the NASA Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) experiment, conducted in February–April 2001. Meteorological and chemical analyses indicate that 73% of the uplifted transport was associated with warm conveyor belts (WCBs) and convective outflow (COF), which transported air masses strongly impacted by biomass burning over Southeast Asia. The rest (27%) of the uplifted air masses originated over coastal regions of northeast China, where fossil fuel combustion was a dominant source of pollutants. Both WCB associated with a midlatitude cyclone and COF associated with a stationary front over southeast China are examined in detail for the April 4 case. During the TRACE-P period, low NOx(= NO + NO2)/NOy ratios in the WCB and COF indicate that a significant part of the NOx was oxidized to nitric acid (HNO3) and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) during transport. Low HNO3/NOy ratios in the WCB and COF airstreams indicate that a large amount of HNO3 was removed during transport on timescales within 1–3 days. PAN was found to be the dominant form of NOy in air masses transported by the WCB and COF, likely due to the production of PAN in regions of biomass burning and industrial emissions, as well as due to the rapid removal of HNO3 during transport. For emissions that were transported to the free troposphere by WCBs and COF, about 10–20% of the NOy remained after transport to the free troposphere, and 30% of the NOy surviving in the boundary layer in limited cases. The results indicate that the WCB and COF provide both an efficient sink for HNO3 and an efficient mechanism for the transport of PAN from the boundary layer to the free troposphere over the western Pacific.

[1] The Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment Phase B (BIBLE-B) aircraft measurement campaign was conducted over the western Pacific and Australia in August and September 1999. In situ aircraft measurements of carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), total reactive nitrogen (NOy), ozone (O3), nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), and other species were made during BIBLE-B. Meteorological analysis shows that the trace gases emitted from biomass burning in northern Australia were mostly confined within the planetary boundary layer (below ∼3 km) by strong subsidence in the free troposphere. Removal processes of NOx (equal to measured NO + calculated NO2) and NOy in biomass burning plumes in the boundary layer are examined on the basis of correlation analysis. The photochemical lifetime of NOx in biomass burning plumes during the daytime is estimated to be 0.1 to 0.3 days using the correlations of NOx with short-lived NMHCs and hydroxyl radical (OH) concentration calculated from a constrained photochemical model. Correlation of NOy with CO shows that ∼60% of the NOy molecules originating from biomass burning were removed in the boundary layer within 2–3 days. This result is consistent with dry deposition of nitric acid (HNO3) in the plumes. It is likely that only a small fraction of NOy emitted from biomass burning was exported from the boundary layer to the free troposphere during the BIBLE-B period.

[1] Using the measured concentrations of NO, O3, H2O, CO, CH4, and NMHCs along the flight tracks, a photochemical box model is used to calculate the concentrations of the Ox radicals, the HOx radicals, and the nitrogen species at the sampling points. The calculations make use of the measurements from radiometers to scale clear sky photolysis rates to account for cloud cover and ground albedo at the sampling time/point. The concentrations of the nitrogen species in each of the sampled air parcels are computed assuming they are in instantaneous equilibrium with the measured NO and O3. The diurnally varying species concentrations are next calculated using the box model and used to estimate the diurnally averaged production and removal rates of ozone for the sampled air parcels. Clear sky photolysis rates are used in the diurnal calculations. The campaign also provided measured concentration of NOy. The observed NO/NOy ratio is usually larger than the model calculated equilibrium value. There are several possible explanations. It could be a result of recent injection of NO into the air parcel, recent removal of HNO3 from the parcel, recent rapid transport of an air parcel from another location, or a combination of all processes. Our analyses suggest that the local production rate of O3 can be used as another indicator of recent NO injection. However, more direct studies using air trajectory analyses and other collaborative evidences are needed to ascertain the roles played by individual process.

[1] In situ aircraft measurements of O3, CO, total reactive nitrogen (NOy), NO, and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) were made over the western Pacific Ocean and Australia during the Biomass Burning and Lightning Experiment (BIBLE) A and B conducted in August–October 1998 and 1999. Generally, similar features were seen in the BIBLE A and B data in the latitudinal variations of these species in the troposphere from 35°N to 28°S at longitudes of 120°–150°E. The focus of this paper is to describe the characteristics of air masses sampled at 15°N–10°S (tropical Pacific) and 10°S–28°S (over Australia). With the exception of occasional enhancements in reactive nitrogen seen over New Guinea associated with lightning activities, the tropical Pacific region is distinguished from the rest of the region by smaller concentrations of these trace species. This can be explained in terms of the absence of surface sources over the ocean, lack of stratospheric intrusion, and the preclusion of midlatitude air and air from the west due to active convection throughout the troposphere. The median O3, CO, NOy, and NO mixing ratios in tropical air above 4 km were about 15–20 parts per billion by volume (ppbv), 60–75 ppbv, 20–100 parts per trillion by volume (pptv), and 5–40 pptv, respectively. Data obtained from PEM-West A and B conducted in 1991 and 1994 showed similar latitudinal features, although the PEM-West A values were somewhat elevated due to dominating westerly winds in the lower troposphere associated with El Nino. Over Australia, the levels of O3, CO, NOy, NO, and NMHCs were elevated throughout the troposphere over those observed in the tropical Pacific both in 1998 and 1999. The effect from biomass burning that occurred in northern Australia was limited to within the boundary layer because of strong subsidence in the period. Analyses based on 14-day back trajectories identified free tropospheric air over Australia that originated from Indonesia, the Indian Ocean, Africa, and southern midlatitudes. The levels of O3, CO, NOy, and NMHCs in these air masses were much higher than those from the tropical Pacific due to their stronger sources from biomass burning and lightning. These values are compared with those obtained in the South Pacific during PEM-Tropics A. Effects of biomass burning and lightning are discussed as possible sources of O3 and its precursors in these air masses.