Platinum Cyclooctadiene Complexes with Activity against Gram-positive Bacteria

Antimicrobial resistance is a looming health crisis, and it is becoming increasingly clear that organic chemistry alone is not sufficient to continue to provide the world with novel and effective antibiotics. Recently there has been an increased number of reports describing promising antimicrobial properties of metal-containing compounds. Platinum complexes are well known in the field of inorganic medicinal chemistry for their tremendous success as anticancer agents. Here we report on the promising antibacterial properties of platinum cyclooctadiene (COD) complexes. Amongst the 15 compounds studied, the simplest compounds Pt(COD)X₂ (X=Cl, I, Pt1 and Pt2 ) showed excellent activity against a panel of Gram-positive bacteria including vancomycin and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, the lead compounds show no toxicity against mammalian cells or haemolytic properties at the highest tested concentrations, indicating that the observed activity is specific against bacteria. Finally, these compounds showed no toxicity against Galleria mellonella at the highest measured concentrations. However, preliminary efficacy studies in the same animal model found no decrease in bacterial load upon treatment with Pt1 and Pt2 . Serum exchange studies suggest that these compounds exhibit high serum binding which reduces their bioavailability in vivo, mandating alternative administration routes such as e. g. topical application.     

Alkyl-Dimethylpyrazines in Mandibular Gland Secretions of Four <Emphasis Type="Italic">Odontomachus</Emphasis> Ant Species (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Formicidae: Ponerinae)</Emphasis>

Ponerine ants are known to contain mixtures of pyrazines in their mandibular glands. We analyzed the mandibular gland contents of four ponerine species (Odontomachus chelifer, O. erythrocephalus, O. ruginodis, and O. bauri) by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, and found that each species contains specific mixtures of trisubstituted alkylpyrazines among other volatiles. Attempts to identify alkylpyrazines solely by mass spectral interpretation is unrealistic because spectra of positional isomers are indistinguishable. To avoid misidentifications, we synthesized a large number of reference compounds and compared their mass spectral and gas chromatographic properties with those present in the Odontomachus species under investigation. Most of the compounds identified were 2-alkyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazines. Interestingly, when the third substituent was an isopentyl group, the two methyl groups were found to be located at the 2 and 5 ring positions. Using our data, we recognized several misidentifications in previous publications.     

A novel fast medical image segmentation scheme for anatomical scans

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Medical image is the visual representation of anatomy or physiology of internal structures of the body and it is useful for clinical analysis and medical...     

Stability analysis and a hybrid controller design of grid‐connected offshore wind farm through a VSC‐HVDC transmission link

This paper proposes a hybrid controller which is a combination sliding mode control and PI control techniques for AC grid integrated offshore wind farm (OSWF) with voltage source converter ‐ high voltage direct current system. The controller must be capable of controlling AC voltage, DC‐link voltage, reactive power and effective power transfer. To examine the FRT capability, a symmetrical fault is applied at onshore AC grid side and compared the performances of the studied system based on the hybrid and PI controllers. The dynamic modelling and linearized system by state‐space modelling for the studied system are explained in detail. The small signal stability analysis and controller stability are observed with the help of the eigenvalue analysis. The analysis of the studied system with a hybrid and conventional controllers are conducted in the software environment of the MATLAB/SIMULINK . The effect of parameter uncertainty on total system stability is examined with the help of eigenmatrix of the studied system.     

Studies on graphite based conductive paint coatings

Electrically conductive coatings are mainly required for static charge dissipation and electromagnetic/radio frequency interference (EMI/RFI) shielding. Electrically conductive coatings are prepared by the incorporation of the metallic pigments/graphite onto the binder. In the present investigation graphite is used as the conductive filler and epoxy polymer as binder. Optimization of the solid content and pigment volume concentration (PVC) of the coating is done by varying the composition of the binder and pigment volume. To get the minimum resistivity value offered by the coating. The resistivity of the coating was measured by means of the four-probe resistivity method. The effect of inclusion of carbon black as additional pigment is also studied. The results are presented and discussed in this paper.     

Identification of Indian languages using multi-level spectral and prosodic features

In this paper spectral and prosodic features extracted from different levels are explored for analyzing the language specific information present in speech. In this work, spectral features extracted from frames of 20 ms (block processing), individual pitch cycles (pitch synchronous analysis) and glottal closure regions are used for discriminating the languages. Prosodic features extracted from syllable, tri-syllable and multi-word (phrase) levels are proposed in addition to spectral features for capturing the language specific information. In this study, language specific prosody is represented by intonation, rhythm and stress features at syllable and tri-syllable (words) levels, whereas temporal variations in fundamental frequency (F ₀ contour), durations of syllables and temporal variations in intensities (energy contour) are used to represent the prosody at multi-word (phrase) level. For analyzing the language specific information in the proposed features, Indian language speech database (IITKGP-MLILSC) is used. Gaussian mixture models are used to capture the language specific information from the proposed features. The evaluation results indicate that language identification performance is improved with combination of features. Performance of proposed features is also analyzed on standard Oregon Graduate Institute Multi-Language Telephone-based Speech (OGI-MLTS) database.     

Investigating the self healing process on coated steel by SVET and EIS techniques

Microencapsule was incorporated into an interpenetrating polymer network and applied over steel surface. A scratch was made on the coated surface and its self healing ability was studied using scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Results of SVET studies show that the current density increases in the initial stage. After 24 h, the current density decreases, which indicating the formation of passive polymer film due to the diffusion of core polymer present in the microcapsules through the holidays. Increase in the resistance (10⁷ Ω/cm²) of the self healing coating was observed after 24 h in EIS studies confirming the formation of the passive film. The results of the studies are discussed in this article. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Densification of Al-Y<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> composite powder by equal channel angular pressing

In this study, equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) with and without back pressure was used for consolidation of fine mechanically alloyed Al-Yttria composite powder. The effect of ECAP on consolidation behaviour of powder, microstructure, density and hardness is discussed. The powder was encapsulated in an aluminium can. Room temperature back pressure aided ECAP results in a nearly full denser (97% of its theoretical density) compact at room temperature. Nano Indentation technique was used to determine the modulus of the ECAP consolidated compact.     

Design and preparation of NiCoS nanostructures on Ni foam for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitor application

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - Supercapacitors are progressively being utilized for storage systems in sustainable nanotechnologies. A NiCoS nanostructure was synthesized...