Butylated hydroxyanisole

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is an antioxidant consisting of a mixture of two isomeric organic compounds, 2-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole and 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole. It is prepared from 4-methoxyphenol and isobutylene. It is a waxy solid used as a food additive with the E number E320. The primary use for BHA is as an antioxidant and preservative in food, food packaging, animal feed, cosmetics, rubber, and petroleum products. BHA also is commonly used in medicines, such as isotretinoin, lovastatin, and simvastatin, among others.

Antioxidant properties

Since 1947, BHA has been added to edible fats and fat-containing foods for its antioxidant properties as it prevents rancidification of food which creates objectionable odors. Like butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), the conjugated aromatic ring of BHA is able to stabilize free radicals, sequestering them. By acting as free radical scavengers, further free radical reactions are prevented.

Research

The U.S. National Institutes of Health report that BHA is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals. In particular, when administered in high doses as part of their diet, BHA causes papillomas and squamous cell carcinomas of the forestomach in rats and Syrian golden hamsters. In mice, there is no carcinogenic effect, and even evidence of a protective effect against the carcinogenicity of other chemicals.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive cars manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations produced since 1993. Prior to 1993, Mercedes-Benz offered the same category of car under a non-unified naming structure. The E initially stood for Einspritzmotor (German for fuel injection engine); a new feature in volume production vehicles at the time that the E-Class first appeared, with the E as a suffix to the engine nomenclature (e.g. 230E) in the 1960s. It was not until the launch of the facelifted W124 in 1993 that the E was used as a prefix (i.e., E 220) and the model referred to officially as the E-Class (or E-Klasse). At this time all Mercedes cars used fuel injection and the company felt it was no longer necessary to add this as a distinguishing feature. Due to the E-Class's size and durability, the cars also frequently serve as taxis in European and Asian countries. Mercedes-Benz also offers special-purpose vehicles (e.g., police or ambulance modifications) from the factory.

In Depth

In Depth is a three-hour program that airs monthly on C-SPAN 2 as part of their Book TV programming, and features a different writer each month. Each interview covers the breadth of that author's writing career, and incorporates viewer calls and e-mails. The show is typically broadcast live the first Sunday of each month. The first program was on February 6, 2000, and was a discussion with historian John Lukacs. For the first several years of the show, episodes were not produced during the summer months.

There have been a few exceptions to the practice of featuring one single author, as with the programs featuring the Strand Bookstore, Frank Williams and Edna Greene Medford's discussion of writings on Lincoln, and John K. Wilson and Jonathan Karp's discussions of the writings of Barack Obama and John McCain.

Sometimes, the profile will include taped footage of the author's own home or office, so as to give further perspective on how they approach the task of writing. On occasion (as with the programs with Shelby Foote and Harold Bloom) entire three-hour interviews have been conducted live at the home or office of the featured author.