Development of an Agent Based Specialized Multi-Lingual Web Browser for Visually Handicapped

In the modern age everyone needs access to Internet; Visually handicapped are not an exception for that. SPECS (SPEcialized Computer System) is a system developed to give access to the visually handicapped.  It has a Braille shell. The user can enter his spoken language. After the selection of the language the user can present his request to the browser through chosen language in Braille. The output generated by the browser is given out as voice message.  The effectiveness of this system is measured based on number of requests processed, access speed and precision of the syste

Novel adsorbent from agricultural waste (cashew NUT shell) for methylene blue dye removal: Optimization by response surface methodology

Activated carbon, prepared from an agricultural waste, cashew nut shell (CNS) was utilized as an adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solution. Batch adsorption study was carried out with variables like pH, adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration and time. The response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to design the experiments, model the process and optimize the variable. A 24 full factorial central composite design was successfully employed for experimental design and analysis of the results. The parameters pH, adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration, and time considered for this investigation play an important role in the adsorption studies of methylene blue dye removal. The experimental values were in good agreement with the model predicted values. The optimum values of pH, adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration and time are found to be 10, 2.1846 g/L, 50 mg/L and 63 min for complete removal of MB dye respectively

Removal of crystal violet dye from aqueous solution using triton X-114 surfactant via cloud point extraction

In this work, the cloud point extraction (CPE) was carried out for the removal of crystal violet dye from aqueous solution using triton X-114 surfactant. Density, refractive index and viscosity of pure components and two different phases of the mixture were measured, and the corresponding excess molar volume was calculated. Most of the dye molecules get solubilized in the coacervate phase, leaving a dye free dilute phase. This experiment was conducted for different sets of surfactant and solute concentration in order to find out the cloud point temperature and their influencing factors such as extraction efficiency, phase volume ratio, distribution coefficient and pre-concentration factor. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters like change in Gibbs-free energy (ΔG0), the change in enthalpy (ΔH0) and the change in entropy (ΔS0) were analyzed and found that cloud point extraction with surfactant was a more feasible process in the removal of dyes from aqueous solution

Ventricular empyema presenting as a complication of pneumococcal meningitis in a toddler

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major pathogen in the pediatric population causing life-threatening infections ranging from pneumonia and meningitis to sepsis, and it is now a vaccine-preventable infection. Recently, pneumococcus is emerging as a cause of multidrug-resistant infection, resistant to ≥3 classes of antibiotics. Here, we discuss a case of ventricular empyema in a toddler due to S. pneumoniae. He was not vaccinated against pneumococcus. He had ventriculitis, ventricular empyema, and obstructive hydrocephalus. He was managed with external ventricular drainage of pus, followed by a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, and received 6 weeks of intravenous antibiotics, followed by oral antibiotics. He recovered with residual neurological sequelae and showed an improvement on follow-up visits

Catalytic, Theoretical, and Biological Investigations of Ternary Metal (II) Complexes Derived from L-Valine-Based Schiff Bases and Heterocyclic Bases

A new series of ternary metal complexes, including Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II), were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and diverse spectroscopic methods. The complexes were synthesized from respective metal salts with Schiff’s-base-containing amino acids, salicylaldehyde derivatives, and heterocyclic bases. The amino acids containing Schiff bases showed promising pharmacological properties upon complexation. Based on satisfactory elemental analyses and various spectroscopic techniques, these complexes revealed a distorted, square pyramidal geometry around metal ions. The molecular structures of the complexes were optimized by DFT calculations. Quantum calculations were performed with the density functional method for which the LACVP++ basis set was used to find the optimized molecular structure of the complexes. The metal complexes were subjected to an electrochemical investigation to determine the redox behavior and oxidation state of the metal ions. Furthermore, all complexes were utilized for catalytic assets of a multi-component Mannich reaction for the preparation of -amino carbonyl derivatives. The synthesized complexes were tested to determine their antibacterial activity against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and S. aureus bacteria. To evaluate the cytotoxic effects of the Cu(II) complexes, lung cancer (A549), cervical cancer (HeLa), and breast cancer (MCF-7) cells compared to normal cells, cell lines such as human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) were used. Further, the docking study parameters were supported, for which it was observed that the metal complexes could be effective in anticancer applications