Protective Roles of Honey in Reproductive Health: A Review

Nowadays, most people who lead healthy lifestyles tend to use natural products as supplements, complementary medicine or alternative treatments. Honey is God’s precious gift to mankind. Honey has been highly appreciated and extensively used since ancient history due to its high nutritional and therapeutic values. It is also known to enhance fertility. In the last few decades, the important role of honey in modern medicine has been acknowledged due to the large body of convincing evidence derived from extensive laboratory studies and clinical investigations. Honey has a highly complex chemical and biological composition that consists of various essential bioactive compounds, enzymes, amino and organic acids, acid phosphorylase, phytochemicals, carotenoid-like substances, vitamins and minerals. Reproductive health and fertility rates have declined in the last 30 years. Therefore, this review aimed to highlight the protective role of honey as a potential therapeutic in maintaining reproductive health. The main role of honey is to enhance fertility and treat infertility problems by acting as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy for protecting the vagina and uterus from atrophy, protecting against the toxic effects of xeno-oestrogenic agents on female reproductive functions and helping in the treatment of gynaecological disorders, such as vulvovaginal candidiasis infection, that affect women’s lives.     

A study on the convergence of homotopy analysis method

In this study, a reliable approach for convergence of the homotopy analysis method when applied to nonlinear problems is discussed. First, we present an alternative framework of the method which can be used simply and effectively to handle nonlinear problems. Then, mainly, we address the sufficient condition for convergence of the method. The convergence analysis is reliable enough to estimate the maximum absolute truncated error of the homotopy series solution. The analysis is illustrated by investigating the convergence results for some nonlinear differential equations. The study highlights the power of the method.     

The chromatographic behavior of group (IIB) metal ions on polyurethane foam functionalized with 8-hydroxyquinoline

Polyurethane foam functionalized with 8-hydroxyquinoline has been prepared by coupling the foam matrix with 8-hydroxyquinoline (oxine) through an azo spacer. The oxine-bonded foam (Ox PUF) was characterized by use of different tools (UV–Vis spectra, IR spectra, density, and stability). Ox PUF was found to be very suitable for separation and preconcentration of trace metals, e.g. Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) ions, from wastewater in the pH ranges 2–12, 9–12, and 3–6, respectively. Various conditions influencing the sorption of these metal ions on to Ox PUF were optimized. Extraction of the metal ions was accomplished in 15 to 20 min. Study of the variation of the sorption of the tested metal ions with temperature yielded average values for H, S, and G of 41.99, 158.23, and –5.1 kJ mol^–1, respectively. The capacities of the foam material were 0.27, 0.16, and 0.09 mmol g^–1 for Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II), respectively. Preconcentration factors >50 were achieved (RSD6.18). The quantitative results were obtained from experiments performed using certified reference materials.     

Analytical application of polyurethane foam functionalized with quinolin-8-ol for preconcentration and determination of trace metal ions in wastewater

Quinolin-8-ol-bonded polyurethane foam (Ox-PUF) was synthesized by coupling the polyurethane foam matrix with oxine through an azo (-N=N-) group. The chromatographic retention behavior of Ag⁺, Pb²⁺, and Al³⁺ onto the Ox-PUF was studied. The extraction of Ag⁺, Pb²⁺, and Al³⁺ was accomplished within 15–20 min at pH ranges of 1–4, 4–6, and 6–12, respectively. The kinetics and thermodynamics of the sorption of tested metal ions onto Ox-PUF have been studied. The average values of ΔH, ΔS, ΔG; k ₁, k ₋₁, k′, and t _1/2 at 298 K were −28.7 kJ/mol, 210.1 J/(mol K), −6.74 kJ/mol, 0.095, 0.01, 0.113, and 7.184 min, respectively. The sorption capacities of the Ox-PUF were 0.16, 0.07, and 0.59 mmol/g for Ag⁺, Pb²⁺, and Al³⁺, correspondingly. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the preconcentration and removal of tested metal ions from wastewater. Recoveries between 80 and 99% were obtained (RSD ∼ 7). The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Anticorrosive and Microbial Inhibition Performance of a Coating Loaded with Andrographis paniculata on Stainless Steel in Seawater

With the trend for green technology, the study focused on utilizing a forgotten herb to produce an eco-friendly coating. Andrographis paniculata or the kalmegh leaves extract (KLE) has been investigated for its abilities in retarding the corrosion process due to its excellent anti-oxidative and antimicrobial properties. Here, KLE was employed as a novel additive in coatings and formulations were made by varying its wt%: 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12. These were applied to stainless steel 316L immersed in seawater for up to 50 days. The samples were characterized and analyzed to measure effectiveness of inhibition of corrosion and microbial growth. The best concentration was revealed to be 6 wt% KLE; it exhibited the highest performance in improving the ionic resistance of the coating and reducing the growth of bacteria.     

A linearization‐based approach of homotopy analysis method for non‐linear time‐fractional parabolic PDEs

In this paper, a novel approach, namely, the linearization‐based approach of homotopy analysis method, to analytically treat non‐linear time‐fractional PDEs is proposed. The presented approach suggests a new optimized structure of the homotopy series solution based on a linear approximation of the non‐linear problem. A comparative study between the proposed approach and standard homotopy analysis approach is illustrated by solving two examples involving non‐linear time‐fractional parabolic PDEs. The performed numerical simulations demonstrate that the linearization‐based approach reduces the computational complexity and improves the performance of the homotopy analysis method.     

Construction of solitary solutions for nonlinear dispersive equations by variational iteration method

Variational iteration method is implemented to construct solitary solutions for nonlinear dispersive equations. In this scheme the solution takes the form of a convergent series with easily computable components. The chosen initial solution or trial function plays a major role in changing the physical structure of the solution. Many models are approached and the obtained results reveal that the method is very effective and convenient for constructing solitary solutions.     

Compact and noncompact structures for nonlinear fractional evolution equations

This Letter deals with compact and noncompact solutions for nonlinear evolution equations with time-fractional derivatives. We present a reliable approach of the homotopy perturbation method to handle nonlinear fractional evolution equations. The validity of the approach is verified through illustrative examples. New exact solitary wave and compacton solutions are developed. The proposed technique could lead to a promising approach for a wide class of nonlinear fractional evolution equations.     

Investigation of Q-S synchronization in coupled chaotic incommensurate fractional order systems

Chaos and synchronization in fractional order systems have received increasing attention in recent years. In this paper, the problem of Q-S synchronization for different dimensional incommensurate fractional order chaotic systems is investigated. Based on Laplace transform and stability theory of linear integer order differential systems, some synchronization schemes are designed to achieve Q-S synchronization between n-D and m-D incommensurate fractional order chaotic systems. Test problems and numerical simulations are used to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.