Sulfuration resistance of five experimental Ag-Pd-Au-Cu alloys with low Pd content of 10 or 12%.

Commercial Ag-based alloy (46Ag-20Pd-12Au-20Cu alloy) is widely used in Japan as a casting alloy. As opposed to the commercial composition, we prepared five experimental Ag-based alloys with reduced Pd content of 10 or 12%, increased Au content of 20 to 30%, and reduced Cu content of 12 to 20%. We then evaluated their sulfuration resistance by analyzing cast specimen surfaces dipped in 0.1% Na2S solution with SEM/EPMA, TF-XRD, and XPS. It became evident that all alloys were susceptible to sulfuration in the segregated Ag-rich Pd-poor phases. The degree and speed of sulfuration, however, differed among the six alloys examined. In particular, one experimental alloy (46Ag-10Pd-30Au-12Cu) possessed a sulfuration resistance equal or superior to that of commercial Ag-based alloy, while the other four experimental alloys were inferior in sulfuration resistance. Based on the results of this study, we concluded that our newly developed 46Ag-10Pd-30Au-12Cu alloy could be employed as a new sulfuration-resistant Ag-based casting alloy--which is especially useful if the price of Pd is skyrocketing again.

[Comparison of the effects of prophylactic antibiotic therapy and cost-effectiveness between cefazolin (CEZ) and Sulbactam/Ampicillin (SBT/ABPC) in gastric cancer surgery employing clinical pathway].

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of prophylactic antibiotic therapy and the cost-effectiveness of Cefazolin (CEZ) and Sulbactam/Ampicillin (SBT/ABPC) in gastric cancer surgery employing clinical pathway. 157 patients (62 in the CEZ group and 95 in the SBT/ABPC group), who underwent surgery for gastric cancer at the First Department of Surgery of our hospital, were investigated. There was no significant difference between the groups with regard to sex, age, incidence of complication, stage of cancer, surgical method, operative time and blood loss, length of hospitalization, the appearance of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), changes body temperature, white blood cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), or clinical outcome of postoperative care by a nurse during post-operation for 7 days. The prophylactic effect of infection was also no different between the CEZ (69.4%) and SBT/ABPC (69.5%) groups. In contrast, decision analysis strongly indicated that the anticipate cost of antibiotics was higher in the latter group (yen 20402) than in the CEZ group (yen 15556), suggesting that the prophylactic effect of CEZ may be more cost-effective. Thus, evaluations of pharmacotherapy from the aspect of cost may be one of the important responsibility of hospital pharmacists in the future.