Systematic review of wound dressings: a movement from the past to the present

This systematic review aims at investigating different wound dressings commonly used for the healing process and skin repair. Five databases, namely SCOPUS, Web of Science, Medline, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, up to 2020, were scanned for papers specific to the topic of concern. The blinded randomized controlled trials, in vivo and in vitro studies comparing common wound dressings, including traditional, natural/biological, and artificial ones were studied in the present review. Finally, the researchers selected 22 studies. From which the data related to the clinical features of wound dressings and their advantages and disadvantages) were derived. The review of literature suggests that many treatment combinations are utilized as wound dressings based on the wound type and hospital guidelines. Nevertheless, there are conflicting views about the most appropriate choice. The findings of the reviewed articles indicate that hydrogels are the most common wound dressing used for wounds and burns due to high thermal/mechanical stability and low water evaporation. However, it is suggested to apply hybrid hydrogel membranes to overcome the low mechanical strength of a single component

Production, characterization and application of nano - phase change materials: a review

Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for heat storage and energy saving has been extensively used in many fields for heating and cooling processes, including building, solar energy, textiles, agriculture, and electronics. PCMs have been getting incredible attention for being low-cost materials and have potential materials for thermal energy storage (TES) with long cycle life. Though, the disadvantages such as flow, result in encapsulation in three scales of Macro, Micro and Nano capsules. Encapsulating PCM reduces the disadvantages and improves the efficiency of PCMs. Different methods for producing PCMs in the scale of nano and core-shell materials, have been developed and the capsules size in relation to parameters such as pH, stirring rate, material selection and preparation method have been investigated. In recent years, this subject has been extensively studied, seeking to find more efficient and safer PCMs. In this context, nanoscale PCMs have been produced and applied to the most diverse products and their performance evaluated. They simply modified and optimized production processes. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that merely a few articles have reviewed nano-encapsulating of PCMs, focusing on new developments on PCM nanocapsules. Moreover, few articles have compared nano and microcapsules of PCMs so far. The analysed papers suggest that the production methods influence the size of the obtained capsules. The purpose of this article is to make an updated review of the synthesis and application of nano-encapsulated PCMs

Potential therapeutic applications of microbial surface-activecompounds

Numerous investigations of microbial surface-active compounds or biosurfactants over the past two decades have led to the discovery of many interesting physicochemical and biological properties including antimicrobial, anti-biofilm and therapeutic among many other pharmaceutical and medical applications. Microbial control and inhibition strategies involving the use of antibiotics are becoming continually challenged due to the emergence of resistant strains mostly embedded within biofilm formations that are difficult to eradicate. Different aspects of antimicrobial and anti-biofilm control are becoming issues of increasing importance in clinical, hygiene, therapeutic and other applications. Biosurfactants research has resulted in increasing interest into their ability to inhibit microbial activity and disperse microbial biofilms in addition to being mostly nontoxic and stable at extremes conditions. Some biosurfactants are now in use in clinical, food and environmental fields, whilst others remain under investigation and development. The dispersal properties of biosurfactants have been shown to rival that of conventional inhibitory agents against bacterial, fungal and yeast biofilms as well as viral membrane structures. This presents them as potential candidates for future uses in new generations of antimicrobial agents or as adjuvants to other antibiotics and use as preservatives for microbial suppression and eradication strategies

Effects of l-carnitine on serum lactate and cardiac complications in patients with heart failure undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting: A randomized clinical trial

Background: The effects of L-carnitine on serum lactate and its metabolism remain uncertain, particularly in candidates for revascularization with a high likelihood of a postoperative rise in lactate levels. The present study aimed to assess the effects of L-carnitine on lactate levels after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) in patients with grade I heart failure. Methods: in this randomized clinical trial, 64 consecutive patients suffering from mild heart failure (grade I) who were candidated for coronary revascularization were randomly divided into 2 groups (32 patients in each group) receiving L-carnitine (3 g orally 2 hours before surgery) or a placebo for the same duration before surgery. Postoperative adverse events, as well as the trend of the change in the levels of serum lactate, creatinine, and hemoglobin, within 24 hours after surgery were assessed. Results: No difference was revealed between the 2 groups in terms of serum lactate levels before surgery (1.51 ± 0.79 in the intervention group vs 1.35 ± 0.43 in the control group; P = 0.33), during intra-aortic balloon pumping (2.27 ± 1.28 in the intervention group vs 2.70 ± 1.42 in the control group; P = 0.20), and also after separating the pump (2.96 ± 1.61 in the intervention group vs 2.56 ± 0.87 in the control group; P = 0.22). No difference was also observed concerning postoperative complications, including atrial fibrillation (P = 0.42), delirium (P = 0.99), agitation (P = 0.88), intra-aortic balloon pump insertion (P = 0.99), atelectasis (P = 0.98), and respiratory distress (P = 0.99). Conclusions: Administrating L-carnitine had no protective effects on the rise in postoperative serum lactate levels following CABG in our patients with low-grade heart failure. © 2020, Iranian Heart Association. All rights reserved

Effect of phosphating time on protection properties of hurealite coating: Differences between ground and shot peened HSLA steel surface

Shot peening is a standard surface treatment primarily used for enhancement of fatigue properties of metallic materials. However, its influence on surface properties is so radical, that subsequent techniques of surface treatment used on the shot peened surface need to be reconsidered in order to minimize the possible negative side effects of shot peening. In this case, the differences between hurealite formation on the ground and shot peened surfaces of modern high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel were evaluated by morphological and electrochemical corrosion observations and measurements. The surface morphologies of the formed coatings were observed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analysed by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The corrosion resistance of the HSLA steel with hurealite coating was evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) by the analysis of Nyquist plots obtained in 0.1 M NaCl solution after various phosphating times on both types of pre-treated surfaces (ground and shot peened). The results showed that used technique of shot peening negatively influenced the phosphating process by prolonging the phosphating process in order to reach the coating with maximal protection properties in tested medium. Moreover, shot peened surface caused significantly enlarged size of the hurealite crystals and greater thickness of the coating compared to the surface pre-treated by grinding on the tested HSLA steel at the expense of a lower compactness and corrosion protection