The Effect of Acetaminophen on Oxidative Modification of Low-Density Lipoproteins in Hypercholesterolemic Rabbits

Oxidative modification of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) contributes to the pathology of atherosclerosis. Antioxidants may protect LDL against oxidative modification. Acetaminophen, a widely used analgesic and antipyretic agent, has significant antioxidant properties. However, there is little evidence to suggest that acetaminophen acts as an antioxidant for LDL oxidation in vivo. In this study, we investigated the in vivo effect of acetaminophen on LDL oxidation in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. The oxidative modification of LDL was identified by conjugated dienes and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). In the cholesterol group which rabbits were fed a diet contained 1% g cholesterol for 8 weeks, TBARS contents and conjugated diene levels in the plasma and isolated LDL samples significantly increased compared with the control rabbits (p<0.05). However, in the cholesterol + acetaminophen group, the TBARS contents and conjugated diene levels were significantly lower than that of the cholesterol group (p<0.05). The results from in vitro studies also demonstrated that the LDL isolated from serum was oxidized by Cu++ ions and this oxidation reduced in the presence of acetaminophen. The reduced oxidative modification of LDL by acetaminophen may be of therapeutic value in preventing the development and progression of atherosclerosis

Earthquake-Induced Settlement in Soft Grounds

Earthquake-induced settlements in clay is derived from both undrained shear deformation and post-earthquake volume change. The former is assumed to be time-independent while the latter must be time-dependent. To determine the characteristics of cyclic-induced settlements, the authors have carried out a family of cyclic triaxial tests followed by drainage on the plastic marine clay. In every test, shear strain and excess pore pressure were measured during undrained stage and volume change was measured during dissipation of excess pore pressure. In the present study, in particular, the results from cyclic triaxial tests were formulated in order to predict the variations of pore pressure with number of load cycles. An excess pore pressure model was used together with the consolidation theory to evaluate the total settlements and their time-dependent variations due to dissipation of cyclic-induced pore pressure. The results of analysis using the proposed method provide a basis for evaluating the post-earthquake settlement in soft grounds

A Quantitative Occam's Razor

This paper derives an objective Bayesian "prior" based on considerations of entropy/information. By this means, it produces a quantitative measure of goodness of fit (the "H-statistic") that balances higher likelihood against the number of fitting parameters employed. The method is intended for phenomenological applications where the underlying theory is uncertain or unknown. For example, it can help decide whether the large angle anomalies in the CMB data should be taken seriously. I am therefore posting it now, even though it was published before the arxiv existed.Comment: plainTeX, 16 pages, no figures. Most current version is available at http://www.physics.syr.edu/~sorkin/some.papers/ (or wherever my home-page may be

Extension of the measurable temperature range of the LHD Thomson scattering system

The large helical device Thomson scattering system was designed for the target electron temperature (Te) range, Te = 50 eV?10 keV. Above 10 keV, the experimental error becomes rapidly worse. In order to obtain reliable Te data in the temperature range above 10 keV, we are planning to extend the measurable Te range by following two methods. First we have installed one more wavelength channel that observes shorter wavelength region in polychromators. Next applying forward scattering configuration is another candidate. We estimate the data quality when the two methods are used. Both of the two methods are expected to improve Te data quality at Te ? 10 keV

Dispersion Interferometer Using a Modulation Amplitude on LHD

Since a dispersion interferometer is insensitive to mechanical vibrations, a vibration compensation system is not necessary. The CO2 laser dispersion interferometer with phase modulations on the Large Helical Device utilizes the new phase extraction method which uses modulation amplitudes and can improve a disadvantage of the original dispersion interferometer: measurement errors caused by variations of detected intensities. The phase variation within ±2 × 1017 m?3 is obtained without vibration compensation system. The measured line averaged electron density with the dispersion interferometer shows good agreement with that with the existing far infrared laser interferometer. Fringe jump errors in high density ranging up to 1.5 × 1020 m?3 can be overcome by a sufficient sampling rate of about 100 kHz