This research studies the relationship between Alexithymia, behavioural, biometric, biochemical and cardiovascular risk in clinical and healthy samples. There were 602 participants (mean age of 52.82 ± 10.59) divided into two groups. The first was made up of 202 patients (165 males and 37 females) who had suffered a cardiovascular disease (CVD), while the second was composed of 400 (285 males and 115 females) healthy volunteers without CVD diagnosis. A cardiovascular risk index (CRI) was developed with the high factorial loading of the following variables systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol/HDL, triglycerides, body mass index, glucose and alcohol and tobacco consumption. The results showed a significant correlation between Alexithymia and the CRI. After controlling for age, sex, occupation, alcohol and tobacco consumption, this correlation decreased, but remained significant for most values. Alexithymia predicted 6% of CRI in the entire sample, once age and sex effect were discounted. Alexithymic subjects with scores above a cut-off point set at higher than 60 had higher levels of glucose, systolic, diastolic, cholesterol/HDL and cardiovascular risk. We discuss that Alexithymia scores contribute to cardiovascular risk, supporting previous findings.Structural consequences of the binding of metal ions (regulatory Ca2+ and catalytic Zn2+) to the metalloenzyme l-alanyl-d-glutamate peptidase of the bacteriophage T5 (Endo T5) and some of its analogues containing single amino acid substitutions in the active center were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), circular dichroism (CD) and calorimetry. Analyses revealed that the native EndoT5 undergoes strong structural rearrangements as a result of Zn2+ binding. This structural rearrangement resulting in the formation of an active enzyme is completed by the Ca2+ binding. In this case, the NMR spectra uncover the tautomerism of the NH protons of histidine imidazoles responsible for the Zn2+ coordination. For the EndoT5 analogues with point substitutions in the Ca2+-binding site, similar conformational rearrangements are observed upon Zn2+ binding. However, no characteristic changes in the NMR spectra associated with the Ca2+ binding were detected. The roles of the proton exchange in the process of Ca2+-induced activation of the enzymatic activity of EndoT5 is discussed.In this era, there is a global concern in the use of bioactive molecules such as chitosan in the field of antimicrobial and antioxidant benefits. Because of its biodegradability, biological compatibility, antimicrobial, antioxidants activity, and high safety, chitosan could be used in a large number of applications. It could exist in many forms, such as fibers, gels, films, sponges, nanoparticles, and beads.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/AZD2281(Olaparib).html  The different biological activities of chitosan and its products are extensively investigated to broaden the application fields in several areas. Chitosan's natural properties depend strongly on water and other solvent solubility. Consequently, the chitosan oligosaccharides with a low polymerization degree are getting significant attention in the pharmaceutical and medical applications because they have lower viscosity and higher water solubility than chitosan. The objective of this review article is to put the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of chitosan and its derivatives under the spotlight. The impacts of chitosan on physicochemical parameters like molecular weight and deacetylation degree on its bioactivities are also identified. Additionally, other applications of chitosan and its derivatives, including wound healing products, wastewater treatment, and cosmetics, have also been highlighted.Pullulan (PU) is an exo-polysaccharide used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, the use of PU in different industries is limited due to its highly hydrophilic nature and consequently weakness in surface properties which can be remedied by its chemical modification with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA). For this purpose, PU modification with OSA was optimized and the results showed that the maximum degree of substitution (0.061 ± 0.003) was obtained under pH of 9.0, pullulan concentration of 40% (w/w), temperature of ~40.90 °C, reaction time of ~101.21 min and OSA concentration of 14.96% (w/w). Also, the grafting of OSA on pullulan structure was confirmed by FTIR, 1H NMR and zeta-potential analyzes. Although this modification had no significant effect on the amorphousity of pullulan, it led to an increase in viscosity and a decrease in decomposition temperature and surface tension. Improvement of emulsifying properties of PU-OSA sample was proved by the evaluation of emulsifying capacity of un- and modified samples and also, zeta-potential, particle size and viscosity of the prepared emulsions. In line with surface characteristic results, an increase in foam capacity of modified samples was observed with decreasing the interfacial tension.In this study, cobalt oxide nanoparticles (Co3O4 NPs) were synthesized by precipitation method from cobalt sulphate solution with basic pH, followed by calcination. The ex-situ synthesized Co3O4 NPs were mixed with hot agar (AG) aqueous solution. The preparation of AG- Co3O4 nanocomposite hydrogel was carried out by self-association method promoted by thermal denaturation. The quenching of hot suspension from 80 °C to room temperature resulted in the formation of AG-Co3O4 nanocomposite hydrogel. The as-synthesized AG-Co3O4 was characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM techniques. In order to test the catalytic activity, AG-Co3O4 was used as a heterogeneous catalyst for the reduction of methylene blue (MB), congo red (CR) and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The excellent performance of the AG-Co3O4 was shown by the reaction rate constant (kapp) values of 0.3623, 0.2114 and 0.2893 for MB, 4-NP and CR, respectively. All these results were obtained with R2 above 94 and utilization of an AG-Co3O4 catalyst. Furthermore, the catalytic reduction was studied with varying dye concentration and catalyst dose. This study showed that AG-Co3O4 catalyst has high potential for remediation of environmental pollutants in wastewaters.