K-Ar geochronology for hydrothermal K-feldspar within plagioclase in a granitic pluton: constraints on timing and thermal condition for hydrothermal alteration.

This study presents the K-Ar geochronology for hydrothermal K-feldspar in plagioclase alteration, including methodology and application to the Toki granite, in central Japan. Borehole samples from the Toki granite were collected and mechanically and chemically processed to separate plagioclase from the rock and remove bulk impurities. The sample fraction of cleaned plagioclase powder was further processed to a smaller size fraction, allowing separation of the altered K-feldspar from the plagioclase host.

Microdiamond in a low-grade metapelite from a Cretaceous subduction complex, western Kyushu, Japan.

Microdiamonds in metamorphic rocks are a signature of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism that occurs mostly at continental collision zones. Most UHP minerals, except coesite and microdiamond, have been partially or completely retrogressed during exhumation; therefore, the discovery of coesite and microdiamond is crucial to identify UHP metamorphism and to understand the tectonic history of metamorphic rocks. Microdiamonds typically occur as inclusions in minerals such as garnet.

The effects of long-term herbal treatment for pediatric AIDS.

This paper presents our long-term (1992-2000) treatment of pediatric Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients (maximum 100 children, last three years 65) using native herbal remedies in a voluntary medical assistance program in Constanta, Romania. We primarily report the progress of 10 children at a facility called the "House of Tomorrow" and three other facilities. The long-term (8 years and 8 months) treatment contributed to a drop of the amount of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Ribonucleic Acids (HIV-RNA) below the measurable level for 9 out of 10 patients at the "House of Tomorrow.