This paper presents phase-equilibrium pressure-temperature data for the clathrate hydrates formed in two threecomponent systemssthe difluoromethane + fluorocyclopentane + water system and the krypton + fluorocyclopentane + water system. The vapor + liquid + liquid + hydrate four-phase equilibrium in the former system was measured at pressures from (0.110 to 1.040) MPa and at temperatures from (288.65 to 299.55) K, while that in the latter system was measured at pressures from (0.111 to 4.866) MPa and at temperatures from (286.55 to 308.45) K. The temperature in the former four-phase equilibrium was found to exceed that in the three-phase equilibrium in the two-component difluoromethane + water system by 9 K or more over the pressure range up to 1.040 MPa. The temperature in the latter four-phase equilibrium was found to be higher than that in the threephase equilibrium in the two-component krypton + water system by more than 23 K over the pressure range up to 4.866 MPa.

Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), who develop antiasparaginase antibodies without clinical allergic reactions ("silent inactivation") during L: -asparaginase (L: -Asp) treatment, have poor outcomes. Ammonia is produced by hydrolysis of asparagine by L: -Asp. We postulated that plasma ammonia level might reflect the biological activity of L: -Asp. Five children with ALL treated according to the Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group (TCCSG) protocol were enrolled. Plasma ammonia levels were analyzed immediately and 1 h after incubation at room temperature and "ex vivo ammonia production" was defined as increase in ammonia concentration. Ex vivo ammonia production well correlated with L: -Asp activity (r = 0.882, P < 0.01, n = 23). It always exceeded 170 microg/dL (170-345 microg/dL) in induction therapy. We found 3 patients whose ammonia production was negligible during later phases of therapy. Antiasparaginase antibody was detected and L: -Asp activity decreased in these patients. Ex vivo ammonia production is a surrogate marker of L: -Asp biological activity.

This paper presents phase-equilibrium pressure−temperature data for the clathrate hydrates formed in six three-component systems each consisting of a hydrate-forming gas, a water-soluble freezing-point depression material, and water. These systems are difluoromethane + propan-2-ol + water, difluoromethane + 2-methyl-2-propanol + water, difluoromethane + 2-propanone + water, krypton + propan-2-ol + water, krypton + 2-methyl-2-propanol + water, and krypton + 2-propanone + water. The temperature range over which the phase-equilibrium measurements were performed using each system extended to (268.65 to 266.75) K on the lower side and (284.05 to 293.35) K on the higher side. The phase-equilibrium temperatures in the three difluoromethane-containing systems were found to be lower than that in the binary difluoromethane + water system at the same system pressure above 0.2 MPa at which the equilibrium temperature in the binary system is nearly 275 K. On the contrary, the phase-equilibrium temperatures in the three krypton-containing systems were found to be substantially higher than that in the binary krypton + water system throughout the measurement range for each system.