Effect of honey on cardiometabolic risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

CONTEXT: Excess calories from free sugars are implicated in the epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Honey is a free sugar but is generally regarded as healthy. OBJECTIVE: The effect of honey on cardiometabolic risk factors was assessed via a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases were searched up to January 4, 2021, for controlled trials ≥1 week in duration that assessed the effect of oral honey intake on adiposity, glycemic control, lipids, blood pressure, uric acid, inflammatory markers, and markers of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. DATA EXTRACTION: Independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Data were pooled using the inverse variance method and expressed as mean differences (MDs) with 95%CIs. Certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE. DATA ANALYSIS: A total of 18 controlled trials (33 trial comparisons, N = 1105 participants) were included. Overall, honey reduced fasting glucose (MD = -0.20 mmol/L, 95%CI, -0.37 to -0.04 mmol/L; low certainty of evidence), total cholesterol (MD = -0.18 mmol/L, 95%CI, -0.33 to -0.04 mmol/L; low certainty), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (MD = -0.16 mmol/L, 95%CI, -0.30 to -0.02 mmol/L; low certainty), fasting triglycerides (MD = -0.13 mmol/L, 95%CI, -0.20 to -0.07 mmol/L; low certainty), and alanine aminotransferase (MD = -9.75 U/L, 95%CI, -18.29 to -1.21 U/L; low certainty) and increased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (MD = 0.07 mmol/L, 95%CI, 0.04-0.10 mmol/L; high certainty). There were significant subgroup differences by floral source and by honey processing, with robinia honey, clover honey, and raw honey showing beneficial effects on fasting glucose and total cholesterol. CONCLUSION: Honey, especially robinia, clover, and unprocessed raw honey, may improve glycemic control and lipid levels when consumed within a healthy dietary pattern. More studies focusing on the floral source and the processing of honey are required to increase certainty of the evidence. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number CRD42015023580.

Health related quality of life in post-acute coronary patient.

The study aimed to assess the effects of lifestyle-modification counselling on behavioural outcomes among patients after myocardial infarction. This was a quasi-experimental study, conducted at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC), Rawalpindi, from December 2018 to February 2019, on 50 post-myocardial infarction (post-MI) patients. Knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding lifestyle was assessed using a self-designed, pre-tested, validated questionnaire. The participants were given health messages regarding lifestyle modifications for 15-20 minutes based on WHO guidelines on the nature of the disease, diet, exercise, smoking cessation, weight and blood pressure monitoring, and salt intake. The mean age of the patients was 58.68±10.8 years. The MI knowledge sufficiently improved (28,100%), positive attitude was observed (27, 96.4%), and healthy practices were anticipated (24, 85.71%) significantly (p<0.001) after counselling. The lifestyle modification counselling improved the knowledge, attitude, and practice among post- MI patients but significant improvement was seen only in knowledge and practice.

Sofosbuvir Resistance-associated Substitutions in the Palm Domain of HCV-NS5B RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase; Study of two Sofosbuvir non-responders.

OBJECTIVE: In current study we performed sequencing of palm domain of HCV-NS5B gene, its ancestral analysis along with amino acids substitution analysis. These analysis were done to find the molecular basis of the viral resistance against Sofosbuvir drug. METHODS: Blood samples from individuals with chronic Hepatitis C infection that were resistant to Sofosbuvir were collected. The samples were processed for their molecular characterization that included RNA extraction, Complementary DNA (cDNA) synthesize, nested PCR, gel elution, Sequencing, ancestral and 3D structure analysis. RESULTS: Evolutionary analysis revealed that current study sequences (QAU-01, QAU-02) clustered with a previously studied sequence, KY971494.1. Moreover, we reports multiple novel amino acid substitutions in the palm domain of NS5B gene such as Ile116Val, Asn117Gly, Glu246Ala, Val252Ala, Glu258Gln, Cys262Leu, Ser269Arg, Ala272Thr, Ile293Leu, Lys304Arg, Asn307Gly, Ala338Val and Arg345Gly in our query sequence (QAU-01). At 246 and 269 position in (QAU-02), no substitution was observed. CONCLUSIONS: We have noticed that the current sequences are relatively emerging and could have been originated from aforementioned sequence recently. Based on the current results, we suggests that these substitutions could be associated with structural or functional impairment of protein and could also be may be considered as resistance associated substitutions (RAS) to Sofosbuvir drug.

Synthesis and characterization of hydroxyethyl cellulose copolymer modified polyurethane bionanocomposites.

Bio based polyurethane nanocomposites (renewable thermosets) show a diverse range in properties, processing components and production of smart materials for health, food, and energy sectors. In this work, polyurethane nanocomposites based on isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), and hydroxyl terminated-polybutadiene (HTPB) incorporating clay were modified using hydroxyethyl cellulose (HLAC) to be further assessed for thermal and mechanical properties. Elastomers samples were prepared by blending clay suspension and PU prepolymer to attain clay contents of 0.3, 0.5, and 1% (weight on dry basis) along with butane diol and HLAC chain extenders. Effect of nanofiller aggregation and dispersion on the thermal degradation and surface morphology of the bionanocomposites were studied. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX) and thermal gravimetric (TG) techniques were used to investigate the interactions among PU matrix, clay nanofillers, and HLAC. Mechanical testing indicated an increase in tensile strength and a decrease in elongation at break (%) by just adding 0.3 wt% clay. The thermal stability of the bionanocomposites was improved with the addition of clay. The results of the thermal and mechanical studies demonstrated the feasibility of the bionanocomposites as strong and thermally stable elastomers with low filler loading.

Synthesis and characterization of graphene nanoplatelets-hydroxyethyl cellulose copolymer-based polyurethane bionanocomposite system.

Bionanocomposites is an emerging class of biohybrid materials, have a significant impact in environmental and biomedical fields owing to their high performance, lightweight, unique, and ecofriendly properties. A major challenge in the multiphase bionanocomposites system is to subtle control over the performance by managing the individual properties of reacting components. Herein, we presented the preliminary investigation on bionanocomposite system based on graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and hydroxyethyl cellulose graft poly(lactic acid) copolymer-polyurethane (HLAC-PU) with the aim to understand the structure property correlation for proposed applications in electronics and medical areas. The HLAC was fabricated by graft copolymerization of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and lactic acid (LA) with dibutyltin dilaurate. The HLAC was used to get a bio-functionalized PU matrix reinforced with GNPs by step-growth polymerization method. The structural, surface, and thermal properties of the HLAC and GNPs-HLAC-PU bionanocomposites were studied. The spectroscopic techniques confirmed the structure of bionanocomposites by the identification of related bands. The SEM/EDX results demonstrated that the 0.3 wt% of GNPs dispersed well in the HLAC-PU matrix and offered higher crystallinity. The reinforcement of the 0.3 wt% of GNPs has meaningfully enhanced the thermal stability producing higher residue contents. The reinforced GNPs filler increased the water resistance of bionanocomposites by reducing their water vapor permeability.

Preparation of hydroxyethyl cellulose/halloysite nanotubes graft polylactic acid-based polyurethane bionanocomposites.

2-Hydroxyethyl cellulose graft polylactic acid copolymer (HLAC) was prepared by graft copolymerization of lactic acid (LA) and 2-hydroxyethyl cellulose (2-HEC), initiated by dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL) catalyst in aqueous media. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs)/polyurethane (PU) bionanocomposites were prepared using the HLAC as chain extender in the step-growth polymerization. HNTs were dispersed in HLAC based PU matrix at different weight ratios of 0.30, 0.50, 1.00, and 3.00. Chemical structure and morphology of the graft copolymer and bionanocomposite elastomers were characterized using solid state 1H NMR, ATR-FTIR, XRD, and SEM-EDX, while thermal degradation behavior was studied by TGA and DSC techniques. Surface morphology of the HNTs reinforced HLAC/PU bio-nanocomposites demonstrated the homogeneous dispersion of HNTs with little wavy rough surface at low contents which turned to be brittle at higher contents due to agglomerated HNTs. It is observed that the lower contents of HNTs were completely exfoliated in the HLAC/PU matrix. Crystalline pattern of the elastomers improved at lower contents of HNTs that enhanced the thermal stability of the bionanocomposites. The mechanical testing suggested that HNTs/HLAC/PU bionanocomposites have higher values of tensile strength and % elongation with only 0.3-0.5 wt% contents of HNTs that suggested the potential applications of elastomers at economic cost.

Synthesis and characterization of chitin/curcumin blended polyurethane elastomers.

In this work, chitin-curcumin based polyurethane elastomers (PUEs) were prepared by step growth polymerization technique using hydroxy terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), chitin and curcumin. The molecular characterization was done by using FTIR and SS 1HNMR techniques. The surface morphology and thermal stability was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. Degree of absorption and swelling characters were also determined in water as well as in DMSO. The crystalline behavior of prepared elastomers was checked by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Results presented that crystallinity of elastomers increased by increasing the content of chitin due to formation of more ordered structure.

Platelet aggregation induced by polystyrene and platinum nanoparticles is dependent on surface area.

Nanoparticles are key components underlying recent technological advances in various industrial and medical fields, and thus understanding their mode of interaction with biological systems is essential. However, while several nanoparticle systems have been shown to interact with blood platelets, many questions remain concerning the mechanisms of platelet activation and the role that the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles play in inducing platelet aggregation. Here, using negatively charged polystyrene nanoparticles with sizes of 25, 50, 119, 151, 201 nm and negatively charged platinum nanoparticles with sizes of 7 and 73 nm, we show that it is not the size of the nanoparticles but rather the nanoparticle surface area that is critical in mediating the effects on platelet activation. The nanoparticles stimulate platelet aggregation through passive (agglutination) and activation of integrin αIIbß3 through a pathway regulated by Src and Syk tyrosine kinase.

Morphological and thermal studies of chitin-curcumin blends derived polyurethanes.

The present study describes a novel ecofriendly series of chitin/curcumin/1,4-butane diol (BDO) blend derived polyurethanes (PUs), using hydroxy terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) along with different mole ratio of chitin, curcumin and BDO. The structural and morphological elucidation of the prepared films was done by FTIR and SEM techniques. The swelling behavior of the films was analyzed in both water and DMSO, which showed that incorporation of chitin increases the hydrophobicity and decreases the rate of swelling. Thermal analysis of synthesized PU blends revealed better thermal stability with following mole ratio 1:0.5:0.5 of chitin: curcumin: BDO as determined by TGA and DSC techniques.

Lipid functionalized biopolymers: A review.

Lipids are the main source of energy and widely used for various applications. In this review, the modification of lipids by using them in combination with other biomaterials like natural and synthetic polymers is elaborated. These new blends have characteristic features of both polymers and are characterized by different techniques (NMR, DSC, TGA, IR and Raman spectroscopy etc.) to understand their structure, properties and functional behavior. Lipids are hydrophobic, have anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial properties and thus impart hydrophobicity and flexibility to the polymers. While the polymers, on the other hand, make the lipids tougher. Properties of few polymers such as starch, polyethylene protein and chitosan that have brittleness, low combustion rate and hydrophobicity, are improved by incorporation of lipids ultimately increased their flexibility, combustion rate and hydrophobicity respectively. This review article is also focused on emerging fields for the applications of these composite materials. The most notable application of composite materials are in the field of paint industry.

Synthesis and characterization of chitosan/curcumin blends based polyurethanes.

In this work, new hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI) and hyroxylterminated polybutadiene (HTPB) based polyurethanes (PUs) were prepared following step growth polymerization by the introduction of varying mole ratio of chitosan (CH) and curcumin (CUR). Structural study of blends through infrared spectroscopy confirmed the incorporation of CH and CUR into the backbone of the PU. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study confirmed the well dispersion of incorporated chitosan/curcumin and homogeneity of surface of synthesized samples. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of PU blends indicated a better thermal stability with 0.25M:0.75M of chitosan to curcumin. Mechanical properties such as modulus and tensile strength of PU blends were found to be better with higher contents of chitosan and curcumin. The same extender composition (1mol BDO, 075mol chitosan and 0.25mol curcumin) based PU showed higher substantial of antimicrobial activity as compared to the all other PUs. On the whole, this work is actually a step towards the generation of novel biocompatible materials preferably useful for biomedical applications.

Glucomannan based polyurethanes: A critical short review of recent advances and future perspectives.

Polysaccharides derived from plants are one of the largest groups of natural compounds that offer potentially beneficial functions and properties. Glucomannan, a bioactive polymer belonged to mannan family of polysaccharides is fairly abundant in nature along with superior gelling and film forming properties. Glucomannan and its derivative with several synthetic polymers are used in a biomedical and food sector especially. Polyurethanes (PUs), a commercially useful class of polymers are extensively used in both industry and everyday life because they retain exceptional properties of both plastics and elastomers. This review addresses the properties and applications of glucomannan based materials with the aim to be explored this less attempted polymer further. Furthermore this paper also presents an overview of current status and perspectives of glucomannan based polyurethane materials.

Chitin and chitosan based polyurethanes: A review of recent advances and prospective biomedical applications.

Chitin and chitosan are amino polysaccharides having massive structural propensities to produce bioactive materials with innovative properties, functions and diverse applications particularly in biomedical field. The specific physico-chemical, mechanical, biological and degradation properties offer efficient way to blend these biopolymers with synthetic ones. Polyurethane (PU) gained substantial attention owing to its structure-properties relationship. The immense activities of chitin/chitosan are successfully utilized to enhance the bioactive properties of polyurethanes. This review shed a light on chitin and chitosan based PU materials with their potential applications especially focusing the bio-medical field. All the technical scientific issues have been addressed highlighting the recent advancement in the biomedical field.

Heparin based polyurethanes: A state-of-the-art review.

Polyurethanes (PUs) are considered currently as one of the established bio compatible and blood compatible biomaterials offering tremendous structure-property relationship. But few limitations such as low resistance to micro-emboli and thrombi are still associated with these biomaterials that restricted their applications and hence need to be modified. Heparin, a highly sulfonated and negatively charged member of glycosaminoglycan family is well established for their anti-thrombin, anticoagulant and many biological activities that make it a highly attractive candidate capable of modifying or tailoring polymer properties. Incorporation of heparin for the improvement of biocompatibility of PUs is an interesting approach and enabling emerging technology. This review focuses on the methods used for modification of PUs via heparin with their pros and cons. The major PU-heparin systems with the recent developments and their possible biomedical applications are discussed.

Starch based polyurethanes: A critical review updating recent literature.

Recent advancements in material science and technology made it obvious that use of renewable feed stock is the need of hour. Polymer industry steadily moved to get rid of its dependence on non-renewable resources. Starch, the second largest occurring biomass (renewable) on this planet provides a cheap and eco-friendly way to form huge variety of materials on blending with other biodegradable polymers. Specific structural versatility design for individual application and tailor-made properties have established the polyurethane (PU) as an important and popular class of synthetic biodegradable polymers. Blending of starch with polyurethane is relatively a developing area in PU chemistry but with lot of attraction for researchers. Herein, various starch based polyurethane materials including blends, grafts, copolymers, composites and nano-composites, as well as the prospects and latest developments are discussed. Additionally, an overview of starch based polymeric materials, including their potential applications are presented.

Collagen based polyurethanes­A review of recent advances and perspective.

Collagen is mostly found in fibrous tissues such as tendons, ligaments and skin. Collagen makes up approximately 30% of the proteins within the body. These are tough and strong structures found all over the body: in bones, tendons and ligaments. Collagen being the most abundant protein provides tensile strength via cell matrix interactions to tissue architecture. Biomimetic materials of collagen origin gained wide spread acceptance in clinical applications. Vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy a serious and painful disease in which defective collagen prevents the formation of strong connective tissue, gums deteriorate and bleed, with loss of teeth; skin discolors, and wounds do not heal. Effective collagens prevent the manifestation of such disorders. Polyurethanes on the other hand are frequently used for various applications as they offered in wide-ranging of compositions, properties and complex structures. Collagen/PU bio-composites have potential array for biomedical applications. Considering versatile properties of the elongated fibrils and wide industrial and biomedical applications including biocompatibility of polyurethane, this review shed a light on collagen based polyurethane materials with their potential applications especially focusing the bio-medical field.

Alginate based polyurethanes: A review of recent advances and perspective.

The trend of using biopolymers in combination with synthetic polymers was increasing rapidly from last two or three decades. Polysaccharide based biopolymers especially starch, cellulose, chitin, chitosan, alginate, etc. found extensive applications for different industrial uses, as they are biocompatible, biodegradable, bio-renewable resources and chiefly environment friendly. Segment block copolymer character of polyurethanes that endows them a broad range of versatility in terms of tailoring their properties was employed in conjunction with various natural polymers resulted in modified biomaterials. Alginate is biodegradable, biocompatible, bioactive, less toxic and low cost anionic polysaccharide, as a part of structural component of bacteria and brown algae (sea weed) is quite abundant in nature. It is used in combination with polyurethanes to form elastomers, nano-composites, hydrogels, etc. that especially revolutionized the food and biomedical industries. The review summarized the development in alginate based polyurethanes with their potential applications.

Role of porin proteins in acquisition of transferrin iron by enteropathogens.

Acquisition of iron from key innate immune defence proteins such as transferrin (Tf) and lactoferrin is an important mechanism by which pathogenic bacteria obtain essential iron for growth within their host. Bacterial species that do not produce siderophores often use specific Tf-binding proteins, the best characterized being the Neisseriaceae-type Tf-binding proteins TbpA and TbpB. Previous work from our laboratory has shown that siderophore-producing enteric species such as Escherichia coli also readily bind Tf, although no genomic evidence exists for Tbp-like Tf-binding proteins. Application of proteomic analyses and molecular mutagenesis strategies to an enteropathogenic E. coli identified the OmpA and OmpC porins as Tf-binding proteins. Mutagenesis of the ompA or ompC genes affected E. coli Tf binding and, furthermore, compromised the ability of the ompA mutant to respond to growth promotion by certain catecholamine stress hormones. Evidence was also found to implicate the OmpA porin as an entry point for catecholamine stress hormones. Further proteomic analyses in other bacterial pathogens revealed wide-scale involvement of porins in Tf binding: Salmonella typhimurium (OmpC), and Shigella sonnei, Shigella flexneri and Shigella boydii (OmpC and/or OmpA). This study shows that in addition to their existing housekeeping functions, the Gram-negative porin family of proteins can also act as Tf-capture proteins for those bacteria that lack the classical Neisseriaceae-type Tf-binding proteins.