Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on August 13, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

It is believed that the presence of certain trace elements in the skin may play an important role in the formation of melanomas. In this work, neutron activation analysis and x-ray fluorescence analysis were used to determine trace element concentrations in cancerous, noncancerous and normal swine skin samples and in non-cancerous and normal swine tissue samples. In-vivo x-ray fluorescence analysis was also used to determine trace element concentrations in cancerous, non-cancerous, and normal swine skin. Data on forty-eight trace elements in each sample were obtained and correlated. The limited number of cancerous samples made definitive conclusions about trace element imbalances uncertain. Nevertheless, the in-vivo XRFA method was shown to be a very useful method for trace element determination. Additionally, good base line data were obtained for trace element concentrations in a variety of organs of Sinclair miniature swine. / Master of Science