Self-assembling bilayers of palladiumthiolates in organic media

Alkylthiolates of palladium forming a homologous series (butyl to octadecyl) have been prepared and characterized using X-ray diffraction and STM. The thiolates adopt an unusual bilayered lamellar structure, whose thickness is governed by the length of the alkyl chain. These mesophases melt in the temperature range, 60° to 100°C, with the melting point increasing linearly with the thiol chain length. There is evidence to suggest that the alkyl chains are orientationally disordered especially prior to melting

Mitigating Instability in Electric Drive Vehicles Due to Time Varying Delays with Optimised Controller

The instability in the Electric vehicle would reduce the performance and even severely damage the system. This instability is mainly due to the random time-varying delays occurring in CAN network and the improper efficiency of controllers. This uncertainty and error occurrence makes it difficult to design the electric vehicles considering the advantages of Electric Vehicles being, the future to reduce harmful emissions due to fossil fuels, the instability can be mitigated by using optimized H∞ controller. The results of Simulations through MATLAB demonstrate the Effectiveness of the improved controller by comparing with the normal PI controller. The results of comparison illustrate the strength of explicitly

Novel peptides of therapeutic promise from Indian conidae

Highly structured small peptides are the major toxic constituents of the venom of cone snails, a family of widely distributed predatory marine molluscs. These animals use the venom for rapid prey immobilization. The peptide components in the venom target a wide variety of membrane-bound ion channels and receptors. Many have been found to be highly selective for a diverse range of mammalian ion channels and receptors associated with pain-signaling pathways. Their small size, structural stability, and target specificity make them attractive pharmacologic agents. A select number of laboratories mainly from the United States, Europe, Australia, Israel, and China have been engaged in intense drug discovery programs based on peptides from a few snail species. Coastal India has an estimated 20-30% of the known cone species; however, few serious studies have been reported so far. We have begun a comprehensive program for the identification and characterization of peptides from cone snails found in Indian Coastal waters. This presentation reviews our progress over the last 2 years. As expected from the evolutionary history of these venom components, our search has yielded novel peptides of therapeutic promise from the new species that we have studied

Contribution of infection and vaccination to population-level seroprevalence through two COVID waves in Tamil Nadu, India.

This study employs repeated, large panels of serological surveys to document rapid and substantial waning of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at the population level and to calculate the extent to which infection and vaccination separately contribute to seroprevalence estimates. Four rounds of serological surveys were conducted, spanning two COVID waves (October 2020 and April-May 2021), in Tamil Nadu (population 72 million) state in India. Each round included representative populations in each district of the state, totaling ≥ 20,000 persons per round. State-level seroprevalence was 31.5% in round 1 (October-November 2020), after India's first COVID wave. Seroprevalence fell to 22.9% in round 2 (April 2021), a roughly one-third decline in 6 months, consistent with dramatic waning of SARS-Cov-2 antibodies from natural infection. Seroprevalence rose to 67.1% by round 3 (June-July 2021), with infections from the Delta-variant induced second COVID wave accounting for 74% of the increase. Seroprevalence rose to 93.1% by round 4 (December 2021-January 2022), with vaccinations accounting for 63% of the increase. Antibodies also appear to wane after vaccination. Seroprevalence in urban areas was higher than in rural areas, but the gap shrunk over time (35.7 v. 25.7% in round 1, 89.8% v. 91.4% in round 4) as the epidemic spread even in low-density rural areas

Characterization of contryphans from Conus loroisii and Conus amadis that target calcium channels

Distinctly different effects of two closely related contryphans have been demonstrated on voltage-activated $Ca^{2+}$ channels. The peptides Lo959 and Am975 were isolated from Conus loroisii, a vermivorous marine snail and Conus amadis, a molluscivore, respectively. The sequences of Lo959 and Am975 were deduced by mass spectrometric sequencing (MALDI-MS/MS) and confirmed by chemical synthesis. The sequences of Lo959, $GCP^D WDPWC-NH_2$ and Am975, $GCO^D WDPWC-NH_2$ (O: 4-trans-hydroxyproline: Hyp), differ only at residue 3; Pro in Lo959, Hyp in Am975, which is identical to contryphan-P, previously isolated from Conus purpurascens, a piscivore; while Lo959 is a novel peptide. Both Lo959 and Am975 undergo slow conformational interconversion under reverse-phase chromatographic conditions, a characteristic feature of all contryphans reported thus far. Electrophysiological studies performed using dorsal root ganglion neurons reveal that both peptides target high voltage-activated $Ca^{2+}$ channels. While Lo959 increases the $Ca^{2+}$ current, Am975 causes inhibition. The results establish that subtle sequence effects, which accompany post-translational modifications in Conus peptides, can have dramatic effects on target ion channels