A Digital Image Correlation (DIC) prototype system for crack propagation monitoring in aircraft assemblies.

In the Clean Sky 2 project DIMES, the cyclic loading of a section of an A320 wing with pre-existing damage was carried out. We present a Digital Image Correlation (DIC) prototype system to monitor crack propagation in the aircraft wing. This system includes a mount for easy installation and adjustment in a confined space.

Effects of Visual Feedback During Recumbent Stepping in Individuals With Chronic Stroke.

Objective: To investigate the effects of intermittent visual feedback (using the Balanced Power program on the NuStep Transitt) during recumbent stepping on strength, balance, and functional mobility in individuals with chronic stroke.

Design: Quasi-experimental 1-group pretest-posttest study.

Setting: Human performance research laboratory.

A randomised controlled trial comparing a dietary antiplatelet, the water-soluble tomato extract Fruitflow, with 75 mg aspirin in healthy subjects.

Background/objectives: Increasing numbers of food ingredients are gaining acknowledgement, via regulated health claims, of benefits to human health. One such is a water-soluble tomato extract, Fruitflow (FF), a dietary antiplatelet. We examined relative platelet responses to FF and to 75 mg aspirin (ASA) in healthy subjects.

Dose-response effects of water supplementation on cognitive performance and mood in children and adults.

Water supplementation has been found to facilitate visual attention and short-term memory, but the dose required to improve performance is not yet known. We assessed the dose response effect of water on thirst, mood and cognitive performance in both adults and children. Participants were offered either no water, 25 ml or 300 ml water to drink.

Effects of antiplatelet components of tomato extract on platelet function in vitro and ex vivo: a time-course cannulation study in healthy humans.

Background: Natural antithrombotic agents that influence platelet function are of potential interest for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Previous reports showed that tomato extracts inhibit platelet aggregation in vitro, but little is known of the active components, their mode of action, or their efficacy in vivo.

Objective: The objectives of the study were to examine the antiplatelet activity of specific tomato components by in vitro experimentation and to establish their ex vivo efficacy in healthy humans.

Effects of tomato extract on platelet function: a double-blinded crossover study in healthy humans.

Background: Aqueous extracts from tomatoes display a range of antiplatelet activities in vitro. We previously showed that the active components also alter ex vivo platelet function in persons with a high response to ADP agonist.

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the suitability of a tomato extract for use as a dietary supplement to prevent platelet activation.

Inhibitory effect of Ginkgo biloba extract on human platelet aggregation.

The effect of pure flavonoids and Gingko biloba extract (GBE) on human platelet aggregation was investigated. Most of the flavonoids and vitamin E did not affect platelet aggregation in platelet-rich plasma (PRP); however some of these flavonoids inhibited platelet aggregation in gel-filtered platelets (GFP). GBE inhibited both ADP- and collagen-induced platelet aggregation in PRP, GFP and in whole blood in a dose-dependent manner.

Inhibitory effect of aqueous extracts of some herbs on human platelet aggregation in vitro.

Effect of aqueous extract of several herbs on human platelet aggregation in vitro was investigated. Out of 28 herbs/nutriceuticals investigated, camomile, nettle alfalfa, garlic and onion exhibited most significant anti-platelet activity (>or=45% inhibition). Aqueous extracts of alfalfa, fresh nettle, and camomile inhibited ADP induced-platelet aggregation by 73, 65 and 60%, respectively, compared with control (P < 0.

Effect of diets rich in oleic acid, stearic acid and linoleic acid on postprandial haemostatic factors in young healthy men.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of stearic acid-, oleic acid- and linoleic acid-rich meals on postprandial haemostasis in young healthy volunteers whose background diets had been controlled for 14 d in a residential study. Six healthy male volunteers were assigned randomly to consume diets rich in stearic acid, oleic acid or linoleic acid for 14 d. On day 15, plasma lipids and haematological variables were measured in the fasted state, and 3 and 7 h (factor VII and prothrombin activation peptide fragments, 1 and 2 only) after consumption of a test meal.

Effects of tomato extract on human platelet aggregation in vitro.

Among all fruits tested in vitro for their anti-platelet property, tomato had the highest activity followed by grapefruit, melon, and strawberry, whereas pear and apple had little or no activity. Tomato extract (20-50 microl of 100% juice) inhibited both ADP- and collagen-induced aggregation by up to 70% but could not inhibit arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation and concomitant thromboxane synthesis under similar experimental conditions. The anti-platelet components (MW <1000 Da) in tomatoes are water soluble, heat stable and are concentrated in the yellow fluid around the seeds.

A residential study comparing the effects of diets rich in stearic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid on fasting blood lipids, hemostatic variables and platelets in young healthy men.

Dietary fat is known to influence the variables of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis associated with vascular disease. However, the role of fat content and/or fat composition of the diet in this regard is still not well understood. In the present study, we investigated the effects of three isoenergic diets of differing fat composition in nine healthy young men in a strictly controlled residential study.

The effects of structurally defined triglycerides of differing fatty acid composition on postprandial haemostasis in young, healthy men.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether a number of key haemostatic factors were altered when healthy young individuals were challenged with a fat load of physiological size contained within a meal composed of normal ingredients and whether this response was modified when the fatty acid composition of the meal was altered radically. Eight healthy male volunteers each randomly consumed four meals which were identical in terms of gross nutritional content (41% of energy provided as fat, 17% as protein and 42% as carbohydrate) but which differed in fatty acid composition. To reduce the possible influence of fatty acid position within the triglyceride molecule on lipid absorption and subsequent metabolic effects, the structural integrity of 91% of fat (test triglycerides such as 1,3 distearoyl-2-oleoyl glycerol (S-O-S), trioleine (O-O-O), and 1,3 dilinoleoyl-2-oleoyl glycerol, (L-O-L)) in the meals was controlled so that the principal fatty acid in the sn-2 position was oleic acid (18:1n-9).

Arachidonic acid uptake by human platelets is mediated by CD36.

The involvement of glycoprotein (GP) IV (CD36) in arachidonic acid uptake by human platelets was investigated using an anti-CD36 monoclonal antibody (MAB). The binding of [(14)C]arachidonic acid to MAB-treated platelets was significantly reduced compared with untreated platelets. The MAB also inhibited arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation and thromboxane A(2) synthesis in a dose-dependent manner.

Prothrombin-related antigens in human aortic intima.

Most plasma proteins are present in both normal and atherosclerotic intima, and their concentrations in intimal interstitial fluid are directly related to plasma concentration and molecular size. All intimal samples also contain soluble fibrin-fibrinogen-related antigens, consisting of variable mixtures of fibrinogen and fibrinogen and fibrin degradation products; the extracted washed tissue contains insoluble fibrin. It appears that the fibrinogen is subjected both to degradation and to conversion to fibrin, which in turn undergoes lysis.

Fibrinogen/fibrin in atherogenesis.

Fibrin is a major component of many atherosclerotic plaques. Within the intima there is continuous formation of fibrin, and continuous fibrinolysis. In aortic lesions, a lipoprotein bound to fibrin can be released by incubation with plasmin.

Does lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) complete with plasminogen in human atherosclerotic lesions and thrombi?

Thrombotic occlusion is the major cause of myocardial infarction (MI), and fibrin accumulation appears to play a significant role in development of atherosclerotic lesions. Any factor that reduces the lysis of fibrin may thus increase the risk of MI, and it has been suggested that this accounts for the atherogenicity of the lipoprotein variant Lp(a). The characteristic feature of Lp(a) is an apoprotein which is homologous with part of the plasminogen molecule, and experiments in vitro suggest that it interferes with uptake and activation of plasminogen on cell surfaces and fibrin.

The inter-relation of fibrin, lipoprotein(a) and plasminogen in human atherosclerotic lesions.

The low density lipoprotein (LDL) variant, lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is a risk factor for coronary heart disease, and in this study we have examined its interaction with the arterial wall. Samples of normal intima and atherosclerotic lesions were extracted with buffer containing EDTA and protease inhibitors and assayed for LDL and Lp(a) by radial immunodiffusion. The extract tissues were washed, then incubated with plasmin and the amounts of LDL and Lp(a) released into the digest were measured.