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Guidelines have been produced in nearly all developed countries to provide cost‐effective hospital care. The study's purpose, therefore, was to determine whether a London hospital's anti‐microbial guidelines conform to this principle.

The paper's approach was a literature search to determine anti‐microbial therapies for certain diseases and comparing outcomes with what hospital guidelines recommend.

There are significant discrepancies in the hospital anti‐microbial guidelines and what is recommended in the literature.

Local microbial patterns for these diseases were not studied as they were not formally available and these could have had an impact on guidelines recommendations.

Local guidelines influence day‐to‐day hospital clinical practice and their robustness is important. They need to comply with national and/or international guidelines. Deviations from these guidelines need appropriate comments within the documents to highlight their validity. Such an approach would facilitate medical students and junior doctor training who depend on these guidelines for good clinical practice.

The study provides an important contribution to developing hospital clinical guidelines.

The purpose of this paper is to review the recent trends in the development of active packaging (AP) for foods.

The most up‐to‐date and pertinent studies within the literature have been included and summated in this paper.

Fresh foods are widely consumed and are becoming a major component of the international food market. During the last decades, the social and scientific modernization, the boom in customer's needs and demands, along with the major changes in the way food products are manufactured, distributed and retailed, led to the development of alternative or novel methods for the production and preservation of food products. This review will present the most comprehensive and current overview of the widely available, scattered information about the different AP technologies for the control of various critical parameters responsible for the quality and shelf life of fresh foods with an interest to stimulate further research to optimize different quality parameters.

This paper offers a holistic view that would guide a reader to identify the recent developments in the field of AP.

Oxidative rancidity is a major problem in chicken meat because of its higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Besides this, microbial contamination is also one of the major problems of chicken meat which leads to deterioration in quality during storage. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate anti-microbial and anti-oxidant effects of various blends of essential oils (EOs) on the quality of emulsion-based (ready-to-eat) chicken sausages.

Sausages were incorporated with optimum level of four different blends of EOs containing six different EOs (Clove oil, Holybasil oil, Thyme oil, Cassia oil, Ajowan oil and Beetel oil), namely, Blend-1 (0.25 per cent), Blend-2 (0.25 per cent), Blend-3 (0.25 per cent) and Blend-4 (0.125 per cent); vacuum packaged and stored at −18±1°C for 60 days. Duplicate samples were taken for each parameter, and three trials were conducted for each experiment, total being six observations (n=6) for consistency of the results.

Significant decrease (p<0.05) in pH of control products was observed at each interval of storage period; however, in case of treatment products, significant decrease (p<0.05) was noticed from day 30 onwards. Blend-2 was observed with significantly lower (p<0.05) thio-barbituric acid reacting substances followed by Blend-1. Significantly lower (p<0.05) total phenolics content was observed in Blend-4 products as compared to other treatments. Regarding DPPH activity, control products showed significant decrease (p<0.05); however, in case of treatment products, DPPH activity showed significant (p<0.05) decrease after day 15 of storage. Microbial count increased with progressive storage period; however, the counts were well below the permissible limit of frozen meat products. All the blend incorporated products received very good sensory scores in consistent manner.

The work under this study would be very useful for the meat processing industries dealing with the perishable meat products. Use of natural anti-oxidants will also restore faith towards the consumers who are becoming more health conscious day by day.

The research work is original.

Bambara groundnut is a hard-to-cook grain and this has limited its utilisation to some extent. However, the grain is a good source of phytochemicals with antioxidant properties. This study investigated the total phenol content, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial potentials of hot-water extract of four Bambara groundnuts differentiated by their seed coats (cream, black, maroon and brown).

Bambara grains were heated in water at a ratio 1:20 (w/v) and the grains brought to boiling in a controlled water bath. As soon as boiling started, the temperature was reduced to 90 °C to reduce the evaporation rate. The extracts were withdrawn within 30 min, which was chosen from a preliminary study where beyond this time, the extract was drying off and the amount of solution obtained was not sufficient for the initial run. Grain colour and composition and antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of the extract were determined using standard methods.

Protein (20.57–26.31%) and carbohydrate (55.43–61.09%) were the major components of the grain. Grain type and boiling time generally affected the total phenolic content of the extract. Cream Bambara displayed substantially lower total phenolic content at all boiling times compared with the maroon, brown and black Bambara groundnuts. The total flavonoid contents and total phenolic contents of the Bambara groundnut extracts were dependent on the boiling time and type of grain. The extracts showed no activity against Candida albicans, but the maroon coat Bambara demonstrated a peak inhibition of 6.00 mm against Escherichia coli. The total phenolic, flavonoid contents and the antioxidant properties of the grains generally followed the order Maroon > Black > Brown.

This study has demonstrated the possibility of promoting the use of Bambara groundnut beyond the current level of usage by using simple processing method of boiling to extract phytochemicals with medicinal properties.

It is highly undesirable to permit the growth of micro‐organisms in aircraft fuel‐systems/fuel‐tank areas. However, the ubiquitous nature of the principal contaminant, Hormoconis resinae, and the virtual impossibility of maintaining the fuel in a sterile condition throughout transport from the refinery to the aircraft, are the basic reasons for the recurrence of contamination once all the conditions conducive to microbial growth have been fulfilled.

This paper aims to assess the efficiency of emulsified essential oils in glycerol as eco-friendly antimicrobial and plasticized agents added to the biopolymer of gelatin for lining historical oil paintings on canvases.

Cedar oil, cinnamon oil and their mixtures were emulsified in glycerol and incorporated into gelatin adhesive as green biocides and plasticizers. Physical, biological, chemical and mechanical tests were conducted on experimental mock-ups to assess the gelatin-based adhesive formulations for the reinforcement of canvas supports. Scanning electron microscope, colorimetric measurements, antimicrobial activity test, attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, tensile strength and elongation tests were carried out on the mock-ups before and after the artificial aging.

The formulations of gelatin-based adhesive with cinnamon and cinnamon-cedar mixture emulsified in glycerol proved their efficiency on the antimicrobial activity test, chemically delaying the decomposition of gelatin and accordingly providing compatible mechanical properties. Gelatin-based adhesive with emulsified cinnamon oil showed a slight yellowing that was quite improved with the mixture of the cinnamon-cedar-based adhesive formulation.

This study promotes a green approach to lining historical oil paintings by developing green formulations from bio-based origins that minimize the shrinkage and microbial infection of gelatin for lining paintings.

The purpose of this study is to present a systematic review of the effects of COVID-19 on the conventional textile production subsector. The emergence of the COVID-19 virus in 2019 has subsequently caused many problems, such as unemployment, business closures, economic instability and high volatility in the global capital markets amongst others within the wider manufacturing industry including textile production.

Relevant secondary data are obtained from the Scopus database and Statista. Based on the data analysis of 21 seed articles, three research themes are identified: challenges in the textile industry, new material innovations or solutions and the textile industry performance.

The results reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the textile industry, disrupted the supply chains of this industry, affected profit margins, stopped employment and impacted the retail of products to customers. Aside from the negative repercussions, there are also good sides to the pandemic which, for instance, range from advanced material innovations to textiles with anti-microbial, self-cleaning and anti-bacterial properties that would limit the transfer of the virus.

Findings reinforced the need for effective strategies and investments in the research and development departments of the various firms in the textile industry to innovate operations and novel materials for the next global pandemic.

Many companies have adopted novel strategies and practices that are helping them to survive the pandemic. This study, therefore, recommends further investigation into material innovations and reimagining strategies by companies and the supply chain within the textile industry so that it is protected against future crises.

This review aims to provide synoptic documentation on acclaimed anecdotal plant-based remedies used by Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) communities to manage COVID-19. The theoretical approaches that form the basis for using the anecdotally claimed phytotherapies were reviewed against current scientific evidence.

In this paper plant-based remedies for managing COVID-19 were searched on social and print media to identify testimonies of people from different communities in LAC countries. Information was extracted, evaluated and reviewed against current scientific evidence based on a literature search from databases such as Journal Storage (JSTOR), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), SpringerLink, Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar and Medline to explore the scientific basis for anecdotal claims.

A total of 23 medicinal plants belonging to 15 families were identified as phytotherapies used in managing COVID-19 in LAC communities.

The plant-based remedies contained valuable phytochemicals scientifically reported for their anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Anecdotal information helps researchers investigate disease patterns, management and new drug discoveries. The identified acclaimed plant-based remedies are potential candidates for pharmacological evaluations for possible drug discovery for future pandemics.

The textile sector is moving towards new technologies, where the application of nanotechnology is offering fabrics with multifunctional properties making fabric odourless, hydrophobic, durable and self-cleaning. This aim of this research is to investigate self-cleaning ability of denim fabric with the application of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) synthesized naturally. The primary focus of this investigation is achieving sustainability mark through green synthesis of ZnO NPs.

In this analysis, ZnO NPs being one of the metal oxides exhibiting self-cleaning, UV-protective and anti-microbial properties were synthesized naturally using Azadirachta Indica leaves. The prepared NPs were characterized by using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses confirming their size and crystalline structure. Different formulations were investigated with varying concentration of zinc oxide and auxiliaries onto the denim fabric using pad-dry-cure application technique.

XRD analysis confirmed the successful green synthesis of ZnO NPs. SEM analysis revealed the homogeneous and hexagonal wurtzite NPs deposition on the denim fabric. It was ascertained that with 5% ZnO NPs and 7% Binder concentrations, the formulation resulted in a smooth and even layer on the denim fabric maintaining the appearance and feel at the same time offers appreciable grading (Grade 4) against the stringent stains of Ketchup, Coffee, Grape and Orange Juice with insignificant change in tensile strength.

In this study, self-cleaning attributes of denim fabric with zinc oxide nano formulations of different composition was studied to achieve promising functional properties in a single step not studied earlier.