Computer-aided quantification of focal cartilage lesions of osteoarthritic knee using MRI

Noninvasive assessment of articular cartilage using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has gained popularity in the diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA), a condition that affects 20 million Americans. Focal cartilage lesions, a defect found in roughly 19% of the OA population, currently can only be evaluated with confidence using minimally invasive arthroscopy. This article presents a computer-aided procedure using MRI to quantify focal cartilage lesions and aims to support clinical practices of diagnosis and monitoring of lesion progress. Upon a local minima search for identifying focal lesions, the proposed gradient peak method outlines lesion boundaries and then generates morphological properties, such as lesion volume and lesion area. The procedure was evaluated using simulated and in vivo data. First, a simulated lesion was created and analyzed, and the results were compared with the exact solutions. Second, an in vivo evaluation was carried out on seven human knees in which nine focal lesions were identified and quantified. Three of the subjects had follow-up analyses, at either 1 or 2 years. Finally, in an attempt to characterize local biochemical changes underlying focal lesions, MR-derived T2 values of defective cartilage within the lesion boundaries were examined and compared with the values of adjacent cartilage compartments.     

A Novel Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Gum Karaya: Characterization,Antimicrobial and Catalytic Activity Studies

Stable silver nanoparticles have been synthesized using gum karaya acting as both reducing and stabilizing agent without using any synthetic reagent. The reaction is performed using water, which is an environmentally safe solvent. This reaction was carried out in an autoclave at a pressure of 15 psi and 120 °C temperature by varying the time. The influence of different parameters such as time, change of concentration of silver nitrate and concentration of gum karaya on the formation of silver nanoparticles has been studied. The synthesized silver nanoparticles are characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD and TEM. UV–Vis analysis of the sample confirmed the formation of silver nanoparticles exhibiting a sharp peak at a wavelength of 420 nm. TEM micrographs showed the formation of well-dispersed silver nanoparticles of size 2–4 nm. The antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles stabilized in gum karaya is tested against Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus and is found to be possessing inhibiting property. The silver nanoparticles stabilized in gum karaya exhibited very good catalytic activity and the kinetics of the reaction was found to be pseudo first order with respect to the 4-nitrophenol.     

An alternative synthetic strategy for (3R),(5R)-5-hydroxy-de-O-methyllasiodiplodin and its epimer

A concise total synthesis of (3R),(5R)-5-hydroxy-de-O-methyllasiodiplodin and its epimer have been synthesized from commercially available (R)-propylene oxide and Orsellinic acid as starting materials. The key steps involved in the synthesis are Wittig reaction, epoxide ring opening with 1,3-dithiane intermediate and Yamaguchi macrolactonization.     

Thermoanalytical studies of oxovanadium(IV)hydroxamate complexes

The thermal decomposition behavior of oxovanadium(IV)hydroxamate complexes of composition [VO(acac)(C₆H₅C(O)NHO)] (I), [VO(C₆H₅C(O)NHO)₂] (II), [VO(acac)(4-ClC₆H₄C(O)NHO)] (III), [VO(4-ClC₆H₄C(O)NHO)₂] (IV) (where acac = (CH₃COCHCOCH₃ ^–) synthesized from the reactions of VO(acac)₂ with equi- and bimolar amounts of potassium benzohydroxamate and potassium 4-chlorobenzohydroxamate in THF + MeOH solvent medium has been studied by TG and DTA techniques. TG curves indicated that complexes I, II, and IV undergo decomposition in single step to yield VO₂ as the final residue, while complex III decomposes in two steps to yield VO(acac) as the likely intermediate and VO₂ as the ultimate product of decomposition. The formation of VO₂ has been authenticated by IR and XRD studies. From the initial decomposition temperatures, the order of thermal stability for the complexes has been inferred as IV > I > III > II.     

Ag-mediated synthesis of six-membered N-heterocycles

Abstract

One of the highly emerging and an important aspect of organic chemistry is the metal catalyzed synthesis of heterocycles. The methods used earlier for the synthesis of heterocycles were significant in the organic synthesis and developing cost-effective, improved and facial methods were beneficial to construct the complex architectures. For the both stereoselective and regioselective synthesis of six-membered nitrogen containing heterocycles, cyclic reactions that are Ag-mediated have known to be very efficient. The present review covers the applications of Ag in the formation of six-membered nitrogen containing heterocycles.     

Antimicrobial Surgical Sutures: Recent Developments and Strategies

Surgical sutures are probably the most widely used medical devices in healthcare applications for wound closure. During their application, sutures may be exposed to microorganisms present in the environment leading to bacterial biofilm formation, and thereon to surgical site infections. The physicochemical characteristics of the polymeric substrate play a major role in directing the behavior of the suture in a biological milieu. In such a context, it is necessary to develop sutures which actively repel and inhibit bacterial adherence and colonization on their surfaces. Drug eluting sutures have been proposed as a solution to this dilemma. Currently, bioactive agents (natural or synthetic) are being incorporated in polymeric materials via various methods including blending and compounding, surface functionalization and conjugation, and coating to render antimicrobial surgical sutures. However, each of these methods has its own pros and cons. Depending upon the nature of the substrate, an appropriate processing technique has to be chosen. In this article, we review the recent state-of-the-art developments and strategies in antimicrobial surgical suture fabrication. The efficacy and mechanism of these sutures in controlling infection is critically analyzed. However, such bioactive agent incorporated sutures have to be tested in clinically randomized trials to accurately gauze their applicability in a surgical setting. Presently, very few antimicrobial surgical sutures are available commercially. Therefore, there is a great scope for market development in this area.     

Halogen-substituted phenylalanines as enantioselective selectors for enantioselective discrimination of amino acids: effect of halogen

Halogen-substituted phenylalanines with a halogen X (X = F, Cl, Br or I) in the para position in the aromatic ring of L-phenylalanine are used as enantioselective selectors to explore the effect of the halogen substituent on the enantioselective discrimination of amino acids. Enantioselective discrimination is achieved by investigating the collision-induced dissociation spectra of the trimeric complex ion, [CuII(ref)2(A)-H]+, generated by electrospraying a solution of a mixture of D- or L-analyte amino acid (A), enantioselective reference ligand (ref) and CuCl2. The relative abundances of fragment ions resulting from the competitive loss of reference and analyte amino acids are considered for measuring the degree of enantioselective discrimination by applying the kinetic method. The enantioselectivity of the p-halogenated derivatives of L-Phe increases from fluorine to iodine for the studied amino acids (except for acidic amino acids). The validity of the present method has also been checked by cross enantioselective experiments using p-iodo-D-phenylalanine as the reference in place of p-iodo-L-phenylalanine. The enantioselectivity of fluoro-substituted L-phenylalanine is less than that obtained with L-phenylalanine. The high inductive effect of the fluorine atom decreases the strength of the pi-pi stacking interaction. The presence of halogen affects the enantioselectivity by inductive and steric effects.     

Palladium-catalyzed regioselective synthesis of benzosultams from functionalized ynamides and benzotriazoles/tetrazoles

Palladium-catalyzed highly regioselective synthesis of benzotriazole appended benzosultams by the tandem-cyclization of functionalized ynamides with benzotriazoles has been accomplished. This transformation involves the formation of both CN and CC bonds in a single step. Donor solvents appear to enhance the yields of the products. The methodology is also applicable for the generation of triazole/tetrazole appended benzosultams.