Increased Zn/Cu ratio in the diet, and consequently in the body, was suggested to be of importance in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Head hair of 29 male survivors of myocardial infarction and of 23 control males was studied for the concentration of Zn and Cu. The Zn hair concentration and Zn/Cu ratio in survivors of myocardial infarction was significantly higher in comparison with controls. The inclusion of the Zn/Cu ratio into the discriminant analysis using total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol considerably improved the coefficient R² and decreased the number of cases not properly classified.

Two problems concerning the digital method of examination of gamma-ray spectrograms are discussed in the present paper. A modification of the known Covell's formula improves the precision of determinations based on poor counting statistics and the detection and the evaluation of the systematic error which is caused by the curvilinear character of background under total absorption peaks. Both the problems have been studied assuming that the stability

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In order to assess the environmental risks associated with the emission of fly-ash into the atmosphere and its storage on waste heaps, the trace element contents of fly-ashes from burning Polish hard coal were determined by a newly developed INAA method. Leaching of trace elements from the fly-ash by water and H2SO4 solution (pH approximately 2.5) simulating acid rain, respectively, was studied using AAS and spectrophotometric methods. Analogous experiments were done with neutron-irradiated fly-ash, following the composition of the eluate gamma-spectrometrically. The new fine fly-ash (CTA-FFA-1) candidate reference material was prepared, and the certification was undertaken on the basis of an international intercomparison run. Preliminary evaluation of results shows that at least 38 elements will be certified and, in addition, the "information values" for at least 12 elements will be given.

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