Recently renewed interest in the therapeutic properties of honey has led to the search for new antimicrobial honeys. This study was undertaken to assess the antimicrobial activity and composition of a locally produced Portobello honey (PBH) on three bacteria known to infect wounds. Manuka honey (MH) was used for comparative purposes. Broth culture and agar disc diffusion assays were used to investigate the antimicrobial properties of honey. The honeys were tested at four concentrations: 75%, 50%, 10% and 1% (v/v) and compared with an untreated control. The composition of honey was determined by measuring: polyphenol content by Folin Ciocalteau method, antioxidant capacity by ferric ion reducing power assay, hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) by catalase test, pH and sugar content by pH strips and refractometer, respectively. Both honeys at 75% and 50% inhibited the majority of the three bacteria tested. 10% PBH exhibited antimicrobial activity to the lesser extent than 10% MH. The difference was very significant (p ≤ 0.001). Both honeys were acidic with pH 4, and both produced H2 O2 . The sugar content of PBH was higher than MH, but the difference was not significant. The MH had significantly higher levels of the polyphenols and antioxidant activity than PBH.

-There is a need for wearable sensors to assess physiological signals and body kinematics during exercise. Such sensors need to be straightforward to use, and ideally the complete system integrated fully within a garment. This would allow wearers to monitor their progress as they undergo an exercise training programme without the need to attach external devices. This takes physiological monitoring into a more natural setting. By developing textile sensors the intelligence is integrated into a sports garment in an innocuous manner. A number of textile based sensors are presented here that have been integrated into garments for various sports applications.

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Textiles are ubiquitous to us, enveloping our skin and surroundings. Not only do they provide a protective shield or act as a comforting cocoon but they also serve aesthetic appeal and cultural importance. Recent technologies have allowed the traditional functionality of textiles to be extended. Advances in material science have added intelligence to textiles and created "smart" clothes. Smart textiles can sense and react to environmental conditions or stimuli, e.g. from mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical or magnetic sources. Such textiles find uses in many applications ranging from military and security to personalised healthcare, hygiene and entertainment. Smart textiles may be termed "passive" or "active". A passive smart textile monitors the wearer's physiology or the environment e.g. a shirt with in-built thermistors to log body temperature over time. If actuators are integrated the textile becomes an active smart textile as it may respond to a particular stimulus, e.g. the temperature aware shirt may automatically rolls up the sleeves when body temperature becomes elevated. The fundamental components in any smart textile are sensors and actuators. Interconnections, power supply and a control unit are also needed to complete the system. These components must all be integrated into textiles while still retaining the usual tactile, flexible and comfortable properties that we expect from a textile. Adding new functionalities to textiles while maintaining the look and feel of the fabric is where nanotechnology is having a huge impact on the textile industry. This article describes current developments in materials for smart nanotextiles and some of the many applications where these innovative textiles are of great benefit.

A simplified in vivo near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system for functional brain analysis and a protocol for the study of visual evoked potentials in the human brain is presented. A novel NIRS system bases on a simple photon counting technique using a CW light source (laser diode at 780 nm), fibre optodes delivering light to the subject and from the subject to detector, a photomultiplier tube (PMT) for high infra-red (IR) response and the 800 MHz Gated Photon Counter/multichannel scaler (MCS) for data acquisition. A chequerboard stimulus was used to elicit a response signal from the visual cortex. This photon signal arising from the cortical systems of the brain was processed to detect features indicative of the neural processing systems involved.

Magnesium nanoparticles of various mean diameters (53–239 nm) were synthesised in this study via pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) from millimetre sized magnesium powders within isopropyl alcohol. It was observed via a 3 × 3 full factorial design of experiments that the processing parameters can control the nanoparticle distribution to produce three size-distribution types (bimodal, skewed and normal). Ablation times of 2, 5, and 25 min where investigated. An ablation time of 2 min produced a bimodal distribution with the other types seen at higher periods of processing. Mg nanoparticle Ultraviolet–Visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis) absorbance at 204 nm increased linearly with increasing ablation time, indicating an increase in nanoparticle count. The colloidal density (mg/mL) generally increased with increasing nanoparticle mean diameter as noted via increasing UV–Vis absorbance. High laser scan speeds (within the studied range of 3000–3500 mm/s) tend to increase the nanoparticle count/yield. For the first time, the effect of scan speed on colloidal density, UV–Vis absorbance and nanoparticle diameter from metallic powder ablation was investigated and is reported herein. The nanoparticles formed dendritic structures after being drop cast on aluminium foil as observed via field emission scanning electron microscope analysis. Dynamic light scattering was used to measure the size of the nanoparticles. Magnesium nanoparticle inks show promise for use in the fabrication conductive tracks or thermal insulation in electronics.

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