1,035 research outputs found
P02.88. Powdered Red Yeast Rice and Plant Stanols and Sterols to lower cholesterol
Elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It is estimated that 42% of females and 34% of males in the USA have elevated total cholesterol. The current mainstay of lipid-lowering therapy utilizes 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coezyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor (i.e. statin) medications that lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol by an average of 20% and 28%, respectively. However, due to the significant side effects of statin medications, many patients seek alternative therapies to help manage their hypercholesterolemia. Red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) has been used as a food and as an herbal medication in China for centuries. Phytosterols are foods that are similar in structure and function to animal cholesterol. Both of these compounds have been shown in clinical studies to significantly lower LDL cholesterol. We report on a case series of 18 patients with hypercholesterolemia despite therapeutic lifestyle change through diet and exercise who took a proprietary product combining red yeast rice and phytosterols as a powdered shake in an effort to improve their cholesterol indices. Statistically significant reduction (p \u3c .05) in the following mean variables was seen: total cholesterol 19%(46 mg/dL) and LDL 33% (53 mg/dL) after 6 weeks using the blend. There was no significant difference in body mass index (BMI), triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, or systolic and diastolic blood pressure over the same period. This magnitude of reduction in LDL cholesterol is significantly greater than the 28% reduction observed in the 1999 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) meta-analysis on the average effectiveness of statin medications in lowering cholesterol levels. None of the participants in our study reported any muscle pains, and no abnormal liver function tests were seen while taking the product. Though this case series is limited by small sample size, study duration, and lack of control group, the productâs significant reduction in LDL cholesterol without severe side effects indicates that this product may be a clinically effective and well tolerated alternative treatment to using statin medications to treat hypercholesterolemia
P02.01. A dietary approach for treating dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia
Purpose:
Elevated LDL cholesterol and impaired fasting glucose are significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease; the most prevalent cause of mortality in the USA. Many dietary approaches have been examined to help combat these medical problems. Each type of diet typically places a particular emphasis on the relative proportions of the three macronutrients; fat, carbohydrate and protein
Externally Dispersed Interferometry for Precision Radial Velocimetry
Externally Dispersed Interferometry (EDI) is the series combination of a
fixed-delay field-widened Michelson interferometer with a dispersive
spectrograph. This combination boosts the spectrograph performance for both
Doppler velocimetry and high resolution spectroscopy. The interferometer
creates a periodic spectral comb that multiplies against the input spectrum to
create moire fringes, which are recorded in combination with the regular
spectrum. The moire pattern shifts in phase in response to a Doppler shift.
Moire patterns are broader than the underlying spectral features and more
easily survive spectrograph blurring and common distortions. Thus, the EDI
technique allows lower resolution spectrographs having relaxed optical
tolerances (and therefore higher throughput) to return high precision velocity
measurements, which otherwise would be imprecise for the spectrograph alone.Comment: 7 Pages, White paper submitted to the AAAC Exoplanet Task Forc
Coinage Metal Bis(amidinate) Complexes as Building Blocks for SelfâAssembled OneâDimensional Coordination Polymers
The pyridyl functionalized amidinate [{PyCâĄCC(NDipp)}Li(thf)]n was used to synthesize a series of bis-amidinate complexes [{PyCâĄCC(NDipp)}M] (M=Cu, Ag, Au) with fully supported metallophilic interactions. These metalloligands were then used as building blocks for the synthesis of one-dimensional heterobimetallic coordination polymers using Zn(hfac) (hfac=hexaflouroacetylacetonate) for self-assembly. Interestingly, the three coordination polymers [{PyCâĄCC(NDipp)}M][Zn(hfac)] (M=Cu, Ag, Au), exhibit a zig zag shape in the solid state. To achieve linear coordination geometry other connectors such as Mâ(acac) (Mâ=Ni, Co) (acac=acetylacetonate) were investigated. The thus obtained compounds [{PyCâĄCC(NDipp)}Cu][Mâ(acac)] (Mâ=Ni, Co) are indeed linear heterobimetallic coordination polymers featuring a metalloligand backbone with fully supported metallophilic interactions
Attosecond electron thermalization by laser-driven electron recollision in atoms
Nonsequential multiple ionization of atoms in intense laser fields is
initiated by a recollision between an electron, freed by tunneling, and its
parent ion. Following recollision, the initial electron shares its energy with
several bound electrons. We use a classical model based on rapid electron
thermalization to interpret recent experiments. For neon, good agreement with
the available data is obtained with an upper bound of 460 attoseconds for the
thermalization time.Comment: 5 pages revtex and 4 figures (eps files
TEDI: the TripleSpec Exoplanet Discovery Instrument
The TEDI (TripleSpec - Exoplanet Discovery Instrument) will be the first
instrument fielded specifically for finding low-mass stellar companions. The
instrument is a near infra-red interferometric spectrometer used as a radial
velocimeter. TEDI joins Externally Dispersed Interferometery (EDI) with an
efficient, medium-resolution, near IR (0.9 - 2.4 micron) echelle spectrometer,
TripleSpec, at the Palomar 200" telescope. We describe the instrument and its
radial velocimetry demonstration program to observe cool stars.Comment: 6 Pages, To Appear in SPIE Volume 6693, Techniques and
Instrumentation for Detection of Exoplanets II
- âŠ