Proton Microprobe and Particle Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) Analysis for Studies of Pathological Brain Tissue

Particle Indiced X-ray Emission and proton microprobe analyses have been applied for the investigation of regional elemental distributions in connection with various pathological states in the brain. Malignant brain tumours and adjacent histologically intact tissue removed during surgery were analysed with PIXE. Systematic elemental variations, e.g., for calcium and selenium, were observed in the tumour front. The proton microprobe was applied to study the Ca and K concentrations in various cell strata in hippocampus following transient ischaemia in rat brain. Significant increases in the Ca level occurred in selectively vulnerable cells within 48 h after the ischaemia

PIXE and proton microprobe advances at the Lund Institute of Technology

A review of recent advances in high-energy ion beam analysis at the Lund Institute of Technology is presented. A nonvacuum specimen chamber allows chemical speciation using a combination of ion beam analysis and controlled heating. The development of a new versatile scanning proton microbeam based on a new dedicated accelerator, an achromatic triplet lens and an advanced specimen chamber is outlined together with the performance of a microVAX-II/VMEbus-based data acquisition system

PIXE and proton microprobe advances at the Lund Institute of Technology

A review of recent advances in high-energy ion beam analysis at the Lund Institute of Technology is presented. A nonvacuum specimen chamber allows chemical speciation using a combination of ion beam analysis and controlled heating. The development of a new versatile scanning proton microbeam based on a new dedicated accelerator, an achromatic triplet lens and an advanced specimen chamber is outlined together with the performance of a microVAX-II/VMEbus-based data acquisition system

Migrant Remittances Provide Resilience Against Disasters in Africa

How responsive are migrant remittances to various disasters, both natural and human-made? Would remittances be affected by systemic financial crises, such as the 2008–09 financial crisis, or more recent crises affecting the Eurozone? Using panel data on 23 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 1980 to 2007, we find that remittances are slow to respond to natural disasters, unresponsive to outbreaks of conflict, and will slowly decline following a systemic financial crisis. This suggests that, given its stability, remittances are sources of resilience in SSA.http://link.springer.com/journal/11293http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11293-014-9403-9http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11293-014-9403-