Increased Inflammation in Atherosclerotic Lesions of Diabetic Akita-LDLr

Background. Diabetes is associated with increased cardiovascular disease, but the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. One proposed mechanism is that diabetes aggravates atherosclerosis by enhancing plaque inflammation. The Akita mouse has recently been adopted as a relevant model for microvascular complications of diabetes. Here we investigate the development of atherosclerosis and inflammation in vessels of Akita mice on LDLr−/− background. Methods and Results. Akita-LDLr−/− and LDLr−/− mice were fed high-fat diet from 6 to 24 weeks of age. Blood glucose levels were higher in both male and female Akita-LDLr−/− mice (137% and 70%, resp.). Male Akita-LDLr−/− mice had markedly increased plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels, a three-fold increase in atherosclerosis, and enhanced accumulation of macrophages and T-cells in plaques. In contrast, female Akita-LDLr−/− mice demonstrated a modest 29% increase in plasma cholesterol and no significant increase in triglycerides, atherosclerosis, or inflammatory cells in lesions. Male Akita-LDLr−/− mice had increased levels of plasma IL-1β compared to nondiabetic mice, whereas no such difference was seen between female diabetic and nondiabetic mice. Conclusion. Akita-LDLr−/− mice display considerable gender differences in the development of diabetic atherosclerosis. In addition, the increased atherosclerosis in male Akita-LDLr−/− mice is associated with an increase in inflammatory cells in lesions

The importance of triaxial shapes in spin aligned configurations in the A = 170-180 mass region

Deformations determined from total routhian surfaces (TRS) for the yrast states of even-even isotopes of W, Os, and Pt are presented. The calculated deformations imply a number of specific features for the yrast line, resulting from deformation changes and the alignment of specific pairs of quasiparticles. The triaxial shapes predicted from the TRS are important for determining the character of the aligning particles as well as for making a correct interpretation of the strength of the interaction between crossing bands and the bandcrossing frequencies. 19 refs., 9 figs

Interpretation of single-particle level diagrams in tilted rotation of the atomic nucleus

In the generalization of the cranking model from rotation about a principal axis [one dimensional (1D)] to tilted rotation (2D and 3D), the mapping of the lowest total routhian on the yrast band is broken. In tilted rotation the single-particle energy diagrams cannot alone be used to construct the yrast band, because they lack information of the spin component perpendicular to the rotation axis. In fact, in tilted rotation the yrast band for high spin can correspond to high particle-hole excitations in the rotating frame

An investigation of pairing correlations in diabatic configurations at high spin and large deformation: applications to the description of SD bands in Eu-143

The HFB cranked shell model is applied in an investigation of the selfconsistent pairing properties of the superdeformed (SD) bands in Eu-143. Results from a fully pairing and deformation selfconsistent mesh calculation of the properties of the most intense SD band in 143Eu are presented, as well as pairing selfconsistent calculations done at a fixed deformation close to the SD minimum for an excited SD configuration. The calculations are compared to unpaired calculations and to published experimental data. Fully diabatic configurations are studied and total energy surfaces are constructed for fixed values of the angular momentum. Other issues addressed include the development of the particle number distribution in the HFB wave function up to very high frequency, the consequences of using a fixed Fermi energy in high-spin calculations and the effects of the number of excited quasiparticles on the pairing properties of the superdeformed nucleus. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

A critical appraisal of the rediagonalization method for construction of diabatic levels

The possibilities and limitations of the rediagonalization method for detection and removal of virtual interactions at bandcrossings are explored in the framework of the cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky shell model. Improvements of the method are suggested

Particle number projection in the macroscopic-microscopic approach

We perform nuclear ground-state pairing calculations with the monopole pairing interaction. The particle number fluctuations are taken into account by the particle number projection method, with variation after projection. The pairing-correction energies obtained in this approach are compared to the BCS-model results. We discuss extensively how to properly incorporate different pairing models in global macroscopic-microscopic nuclear mass calculations. A method to calculate the smoothly changing part of the particle number projected energy is developed based on the Strutinsky procedure, making it possible to extract a pairing-shell energy. The behavior of the different pairing models is investigated in detail in the nuclei Er-164 and Tm-165. Calculations are then performed along the beta-stability line and for several isotope and isotone chains from the proton drip-line to the neutron drip-line. The single-particle energy levels used are obtained from two different single-particle potentials: the folded-Yukawa and the modified-harmonic oscillator potentials. The pairing calculations in the two potentials differ slightly in the fine-structure but the overall results are very similar. When comparing the particle number projected model and the BCS model it is found that the pairing-shell energy is quite insensitive to which microscopic pairing model is used. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved