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of Acinetobacter baumannii to form biofilm and adhere to epithelial cell surfaces. Clin Microbiol Infect 2008, 14:49–54.CrossRefPubMed 17. Tomaras AP, Dorsey CW, Edelmann RE, Actis LA: Attachment to and biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces by Acinetobacter ATM Kinase Inhibitor chemical structure baumannii : involvement of a novel chaperone-usher pili assembly system. EPZ-6438 in vitro Microbiology 2003, 149:3473–3484.CrossRefPubMed 18. Loehfelm TW, Luke NR, Campagnari AA: Identification and characterization of an Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm-associated protein. J Bacteriol 2008, 190:1036–1044.CrossRefPubMed 19. Gaddy YA, Tomaras A, Actis LA: The Acinetobacter baumannii 19606 OmpA protein plays a role in biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces and in the interaction of this pathogen with eukaryotic cells. Infect Immun 2009, 77:3150–3160.CrossRefPubMed

20. Nemec A, Dijkshoorn L, Reijden T: Long-term predominance of two pan-European clones among multi-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains in the Czech Republic. J Med Microbiol 2004, 53:147–153.CrossRefPubMed 21. van Dessel H, Dijkshoorn L, Reijden T, Bakker N, Paauw A, Broek P, Verhoef J, Brisse S: Identification of a new geographically widespread multi-resistant this website Clomifene Acinetobacter

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Amplicons were sequence-verified. Multi-locus sequence typing Gene fragments from the adk, fumC, gyrB, icd, mdh, purA and recA were amplified using primers listed in Table 2, as described by Wirth et al [19]. Amplified

DNA products were sequenced from both ends. Allele assignments were made at the publicly accessible E. coli MLST database at http://​www.​mlst.​net. Phylogenetic inferences about ancestral allelic profiles and strain interrelatedness were made using eBURSTv3 at http://​eburst.​mlst.​net/​ defining clonal complexes based on groups sharing five identical alleles www.selleckchem.com/products/acy-738.html and bootstrapping with 1000 samplings. Statistical analysis Proportions were compared using the χ2 or Fisher’s exact test with p-values less than 0.05 being considered significant. Funding This work was supported by a Branco Weiss Fellowship from the Society in Science, ETHZ, Zürich to INO. SSN and RSL were HHMI-supported undergraduate

researchers, and RSL was also an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Scholar, at Haverford College. Acknowledgements We thank Owusu Agyemang Nsiah-Poodoh, Jessica Glaubman, Cindy Manu and Bing Dao Zhang for technical assistance, as well as John Wain and Jennifer Crowe for helpful comments. This study was dependent on the E. coli MLST database curated by Mark Achtman and made publicly available from http://​www.​mlst.​net. References 1. Okeke IN, Fayinka ST, Neuronal Signaling Lamikanra A: Antibiotic resistance trends in Escherichia coli from apparently healthy Nigerian students (1986–1998). Emerg Infect Dis 2000, 6 (4) : 393–396.PubMedCrossRef 2. Mendez Arancibia E, Pitart C, Ruiz J, Marco F, Gascon J, Vila J: Evolution of antimicrobial resistance in enteroaggregative Escherichia coli and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli causing traveller’s check details diarrhoea. J Antimicrob Chemother 2009, 64 (2) : 343–347.PubMedCrossRef

3. Okeke IN, Lamikanra A, Czeczulin J, Dubovsky F, Kaper JB, Nataro JP: Heterogeneous virulence of enteroaggregative Escherchia coli strains isolated from children in Southwest Nigeria. J Infect Dis 2000, 181: 252–260.PubMedCrossRef 4. Okeke IN, Steinruck H, Kanack KJ, Elliott SJ, Sundstrom L, Kaper JB, Lamikanra A: https://www.selleckchem.com/products/apr-246-prima-1met.html Antibiotic-resistant cell-detaching Escherichia coli strains from Nigerian children. J Clin Microbiol 2002, 40 (1) : 301–305.PubMedCrossRef 5. Soge OO, Adeniyi BA, Roberts MC: New antibiotic resistance genes associated with CTX-M plasmids from uropathogenic Nigerian Klebsiella pneumoniae . J Antimicrob Chemother 2006, 58 (5) : 1048–1053.PubMedCrossRef 6. Nabeth P, Perrier-Gros-Claude J-D, Juergens-Behr A, Dromigny J-A: In vitro susceptibility of quinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae uropathogens to fosfomycin trometamol, in Dakar, Senegal. Scand J Infect Dis 2005, 37 (6) : 497–499.PubMedCrossRef 7. Newman MJ, Frimpong E, Asamoah-Adu A, Sampane-Donkor E, Opintan JA: Resistance to antimicrobial drugs in Ghana.

2000; Adger 2006; Adger et al. 2005). Small island developing states and small islands within larger states are physical, ecological, and social Vactosertib entities with distinctive

attributes related to their insularity, remoteness, size, geographic setting, climate, culture, governance, and economy (e.g. Pelling and Uitto 2001; Mimura et al. 2007; Hay 2013; Forbes et al. 2013). Yet despite the sense of separation that attends the experience of small islands, global change in a variety of forms impinges directly or indirectly on the environment and sustainability of these island communities. As a group, they pose some of the most striking challenges to sustainability Smoothened Agonist molecular weight science. Low-lying island states,

selleck compound such as the Maldives and Tuvalu, face pressing concerns about the limits to habitability under accelerated sea-level rise, the result of a warming global climate. Ocean warming and acidification pose threats to the conservation of reef corals and the stability and resilience of coral reefs under rising sea level (IPCC 2007). Together with concerns about freshwater resources, these environmental threats exacerbate challenges related to small size and remoteness, demographic pressures, small markets and limited economic opportunities, high per-capita infrastructure costs, reliance on external finance, limited technical capacity (including capacity for disaster response, recovery, and risk reduction), and cultural transformation through processes such as Histidine ammonia-lyase labour exports, growing international exposure, and internet access. The small populations and resource constraints of many small island states can limit the technical capacity of island institutions to deal with these challenges under conditions

in which past experience (traditional knowledge) may be a poor guide to the future. Solutions may be found by way of technical (e.g. hard or soft engineering), institutional, political or other approaches. Furthermore, there is a need to understand the multiple sources of hazards and threats, some of which originate with global climate change, while others may be due to maladaptive development at community and island scales (cited by several papers in this Special Issue). If major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are achieved, but local maladaptation continues, it is quite possible that negative climate-change impacts will still occur. Thus small islands may be both victims and agents of inadequate responses to climate change. It is therefore important to reduce vulnerability, to seek and implement affordable adaptation strategies, to support joint efforts at regional and international levels, and to build resilience by incorporating adaptation needs and options into the awareness, decision making, planning and actions of those living on small islands (Jerneck et al. 2011).

11.%) and 43 patients with vertebral artery click here injuries (19.71%) [10]. Another study carried out by McKinney et al. performed angiography on 71 patients with risk factors

for cervical artery injuries over the course of 13 months; they identified 12 patients with carotid artery injuries (16.67%) and 12 patients with vertebral artery injuries (16.67%) [13]. In the current study, 12 out of the 100 patients with risk factors for carotid and vertebral artery injuries were diagnosed with vertebral injuries. The results of the current study are Selleckchem AZD5153 very similar to those of McKinney et al., with only a slightly smaller incidence of carotid and vertebral injury in the current study. McKinney et al. studied 24 patients with carotid and vertebral injuries and identified 10 patients with Degree I injuries, four patients with Degree II injuries, eight patients with Degree III injuries, two patients with Degree IV injuries, and no patients with Degree V injuries [13]. In the current study we identified seven patients with Degree I injuries, ten patients with Degree II injuries, no patients with Degree III injuries, Rabusertib cell line four patients with Degree IV injuries, one patient with Degree V injuries, and one patient with a fistula. Fabian et al. studied 67 patients with 87 carotid injuries, including 54 dissections, 11 pseudoaneurysms with dissections, 17 thromboses, four carotid-cavernous fistulas,

and one transection. The patients were treated in the following manner: the fistulas were embolized with a balloon, the transection was clamped, 47 of the patients were treated with heparin, eight patients were only observed, six patients Orotidine 5′-phosphate decarboxylase received aspirin, and one patient was submitted for surgery. In that study, the group of patients that received heparin showed greater improvement than those who did not receive heparin. The complications that occurred in patients who received heparin included: gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hemorrhage

of the hepatic artery, tracheal hemorrhage, two subdural hematomas that required surgery, and worsening of a ventricular hemorrhage. Subsequently, when 39 patients were reexamined, 62% showed normalization of the injury and 29% had developed a pseudoaneurysm [3]. Biffl et al. identified 114 patients with 157 injuries of the carotid arteries, and 79 patients with 97 vertebral artery injuries. In that study, 137 were Degree I injuries; 52 were Degree II injuries; 32 were Degree III injuries, 25 were Degree IV injuries; and eight were Degree V injuries. One week after trauma, 114 carotid injuries and 65 vertebral injuries were reevaluated with angiography, and 82% of the Degree IV injuries and 93% of the Degree III injuries showed no change. In contrast, 57% of the Degree I injuries and 8% of the Degree II injuries regressed to complete normality and treatment was discontinued.

2 ml optical tubes using a Bio-Rad CFX96 Touch Real-time PCR system (Bio-Rad Life Science Research, CA). Amplification was performed in 25 μl reaction mixtures selleck inhibitor containing AmpliTaq Gold PCR reaction buffer (Life Technologies, NY) supplemented with 3 mM MgCl2, 500 ng/μl of bovine serum albumin, 250 μM of each deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP), 500 nM of each set of primers, 5 units of AmpliTaq Gold polymerase (Life

Technologies, NY), and 100 nM each of RecA3 and ACTA1 molecular beacon probe. Specificity of each primer set and molecular beacon probe was first checked in monoplex assays using the specific primers/probe in the PCR. The primer/probe sets of other pathogen(s) were included as negative controls in these assay (data not shown). For each amplification reaction, 5 μl of the DNA template was used to minimize the variation due to pipetting error. The amplification program consisted of initial heating at 95°C for 5 minutes, followed by 50 cycles of heating at 95°C for 15 s, annealing and fluorescence detection at 60°C for 30 s, and polymerization at 72°C for 20 s. Similarly, amplification of a 141 bp amplicon from BmTPK gene using 5BmTPK and 3BmTPK Staurosporine in vivo primers and a 152 bp selleck kinase inhibitor amplicon of APH1387 gene using 5Aphagocyt and 3Aphagocyt primers were carried out in the presence of human

genomic DNA. Molecular beacon probes, BmTPK and APH1387 were used for detection of the respective amplicons. All primer and probe sequences are listed in Table 1. Data were processed using the software provided by the manufacturer. Quadruplex real-time PCR assays Quadruplex real-time PCR assay was performed in conditions described above. Genomic DNA of B. enough burgdorferi and human, and clones of BmTPK and APH1387 were used as templates, and 500 nM each of RecF and RecR primers and 5BmTPK and 3BmTPK primers, 250 nM each of 5Aphagocyt and 3Aphagocyt primers, 100 nM each of 5ACTA1 and 3ACTA1 primers, 100 nM each of RecA3, BmTPK, APH1387, and ACTA1 molecular beacons were included in each reaction. For confirmation of the quadruplex assay in which plasmids containing BmTPK and

APH1387 were used, we incorporated different concentrations of genomic DNA of B. burgdorferi, B. microti and A. phagocytophilum in the triplex real-time PCR. Human DNA control was not included in these assays. Genome sizes of B. microti and A. phagocytophilum are 6.5 Mb and 1.47 Mb, respectively. Therefore, 106 copies of BmTPK and APH1387 are calculated to be present in 8 ng and 2 ng of genomic DNA, respectively. By using different relative genomic copy numbers and the conditions described above for quadruplex assay, consistent results validated our assay for simultaneous detection of all three pathogens. Borrelia speciation by real-time PCR assays To differentiate three major species that cause Lyme disease in Europe, B. burgdorferi, B. afzelii and B.

By incorporating aboriginal land use practices into the active management of remaining Garry oak ecosystems, restoration or intervention activities (Hobbs et al. 2011) may be more successful

than they are at present (Dunwiddie and Bakker 2011; Götmark 2013). Even with active management, ecological intervention will be necessary to maintain mixed age class Garry oak ecosystems over the next century—especially in Canada. Given that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Pachauri and Reisinger 2007) has concluded that Earth’s climate is very likely changing at a pace unprecedented in the CDK inhibitors in clinical trials last 10,000 years, this leads us to wonder how we can best protect the value of our lands and renewable resources for both ourselves

and for future generations? It is crucial for palaeoecologists to tackle issues associated with conservation ecology (Froyd and Willis 2008). In particular, paleoecology can contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between climate and ecosystem response in the context of natural range of variability and ecological thresholds. Given that most of the available literature on ecosystems is focused on timescales less than 50 years, palaeoecological studies focusing on longer time horizons and ecological questions are useful (Froyd and Willis 2008). This is especially important in future conservation efforts as novel ecosystems may become the norm given climate change (Williams et al. 2007; Hobbs check details et al. 2009). Strategic site selection for Garry oak ecosystems Montelukast Sodium under future climate scenarios (Pellatt et al. 2012) will likely involve the alteration of future ecosystems in order to maintain many of the ecosystems that we value today. Hence lessons learned from the past regarding Garry oak ecosystem structure and function, aboriginal land use, and fire show us that many Garry oak associated ecosystems

are eco-cultural in origin. We also can see from the conditions of these ecosystems today and where they may persist in the future, that ecological intervention activities may be necessary for their persistence and even with our active management activities, these systems will be different than they were in the past. Just as importantly we seek to stress the need to accept and incorporate traditional land-use practices into ecosystem management activities because our study area was not terra nullius (Lindqvist 2007); it was the result of an eco-cultural interaction. Understanding ecological see more processes (past and possible futures) is critical in determining the feasibility of long-term recovery or future ecological trajectories (Karlsson et al. 2007). If we fail to understand, and in many cases emulate, these processes then we will become gardeners, maintaining fragments of a past ecosystem that represents a depauperate assemblage of its former richness.

Whereas semi-quantitive method reported the most frequently isolated Selonsertib cost bacteria from intravascular catheters

as coagulase-negative staphylococci and staphylococcus aureus [16, 40], our molecular data analysis from 16S rRNA gene clone sequences presented Stenotrophomonas maltophilia as the predominant bacteria. There are several reports of discrepancies between culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches for bacterial community studies [29, 41, 42]. Culture dependent methods bias bacteria who favour the growth media and grow fast under standard laboratory conditions. In addition, some bacterial species may compete with others for nutrients or they may even inhibit other bacteria from growing [20, 41, 43]. Unlike the semi-quantitive method, which only examines bacteria on outer surfaces of catheters, the molecular method used here enables assessing bacteria on both inner and outer surfaces of catheters. Together these factors might help explain variations LCZ696 cost of the bacterial community examined by these two methods. Compared to culture-dependent methods, culture-independent methods provide more comprehensive information on the bacterial community. The knowledge gained from

this study may be a beginning step in improved understanding of pathogenesis and infection risks for critically ill patients with intravascular catheters. GDC941 Replication of this study in other settings, Branched chain aminotransferase as well as exploring the relationship between type and timing of commencement for antibiotic therapy, and diagnostic results, are important areas for future research. Conclusions This study

of critically ill patients with suspected CRI, has demonstrated that both colonised and uncolonised ACs examined by molecular method have an average of 20 OTUs per catheter, most of which are not isolated by the semi-quantitative method. Overall there were 79 OTUs in the two sets of samples which comprised 51 OTUs for colonised ACs and 44 OTUs uncolonised ACs. Of the 79 OTUs identified in the two sets of samples, 40 were identified in both groups. Statistically there was no significant difference in bacterial composition between uncolonised and colonised ACs, as confirmed by the results of t-test of taxonomic group distribution, the OTU distribution, and diversity indices. Taken together, this study suggests that in vascular devices removed for suspicion of CRI and analysed using semi-quantitative method, a negative culture result may not be indicative of non infective catheters. Moreover, these culture negative catheters may at times be a significant source of sepsis in critically ill patients. Whilst the clinical significance of these findings requires further study before any such conclusions may be drawn, the results suggest a need for the development of new methods that more accurately determine the presence of pathogens on intravascular devices.

Emphasis is on endophytes isolated from higher plants including mangroves, as well as on fungi associated with marine algae or invertebrates. The review is a continuation of our earlier reports dealing with bioactive metabolites recovered from endophytes and marine derived fungi (Aly et al. 2010a,b; Debbab et al. 2011). All compounds are grouped according

to their biological activities including cytotoxic, anti-infective, radical scavenging, enzyme inhibition, anti-fouling and anti-parasitic activities. check details In total 178 compounds, comprising 138 new natural products, are presented. In addition, new insights on fungal-host interaction, communication, and potential ecological roles recently published for endophytic and marine-derived fungi, as well as new strategies for manipulating biosynthetic genes and triggering the production of novel secondary metabolites by fungi are presented. Endophytic fungal-host interaction Fungal associations with land plants date back from early evolutionary times. Examination of thin petrographic sections of a 400 million year old Selleckchem AR-13324 Rhynie chert plant, Nothia aphylla, showed the presence of three endophytic fungal species in root tissues

(Krings et al. 2007). Like any form of symbiosis, fungal-host interactions are extremely variable with respect to their impact on both partners. In most cases the fungal partner exploits resources from the associated host through a parasitic or commensal interaction, whereas in mutualistic JIB04 interactions the host is able to take advantage of the inhabiting fungus in return. It is believed that co-evolution of endophytes and their host plants influence natural products patterns of both partners, probably affecting endophyte-host communication and host adaptation to environmental challenges (Gunatilaka 2006).

Endophytic fungi have been found in every plant species examined to date, where they spend all or part of their life cycle residing asymptomatically within plant tissues (Saikkonen et PIK3C2G al. 1998). These fungi may contribute to the overall performance of host plants by improving their fitness, photosynthetic efficiency, nutrient and water use, growth rate, reproductive success, or by acting as chemical defenses against herbivores, pathogens, or competitors (Schulz and Boyle 2005; Strobel 2006; Herre et al. 2007; Singh et al. 2011), by sharing genes and secondary metabolites that allow plants to tolerate abiotic or biotic stress and thus adapt to changing environmental conditions (Barrow et al. 2008; Singh et al. 2011). They may accordingly have a significant influence on plant biogeography, evolution, and community structure in terrestrial ecosystems (Rodríguez et al. 2009).

A comparison indicates that the composites exhibit a higher intensity ratio of Q to B ring modes than pure PANI, suggesting that there are more quinoid units in the composites than pure PANI. This result can be attributed to the adding of HAuCl4 and H2PtCl6, which can serve not only as the resource of metal particles, but also as strong oxidants, which can enhance the oxidation degree

of the PANI in composites [22, 23]. Figure 3 represents the UV-vis absorption spectra of PANI, PANI(HAuCl4·4H2O), and PANI(H2PtCl6·6H2O) in m-cresol solution. The characteristic peaks of PANI and composites at approximately 320 to 330 nm, approximately 430 to 445 nm, and 820 to 870 nm are attributed to π-π*, selleck chemicals check details polaron-π*, and π-polaron transitions, respectively [18]. Feng et al. reported that pure Au nanoparticles usually show Selleck VX-680 an absorption peak at approximately 510 nm as a result of the surface plasmon resonance [24], whereas Pt nanoparticles usually have no absorption peak at 300 to 1,000 nm [25, 26]. However, in this case, the surface plasmon resonance

bands of Au nanoparticles are not observed, which may be caused by the changing of their surrounding environment [7]. However, the absorption peaks of π-polaron change significantly, and the intensity ratio (A820–870/A320–330) of the composites is higher than PANI, indicating that the doping level of the PANI in composites is higher than that of pure PANI [27]. Therefore, the results from the UV-vis absorption spectra imply that the HAuCl4 or H2PtCl6 have certain effects on the polymer chains. Figure 3 UV-vis spectra. STK38 Curves (a) PANI, (b) PANI(HAuCl4·4H2O), and (c) PANI(H2PtCl6·6H2O). Figure 4 is the EDS of the composites. It can be concluded from Figure 4 that the Au and Pt elements do exist in the polymer matrix, and the weight percentages are 7.65 and 6.07 for Au and Pt elements, respectively. Figure 5

shows the XRD patterns of PANI, PANI(HAuCl4·4H2O), and PANI(H2PtCl6·6H2O). As indicated in Figure 5, the PANI exhibits two peaks at 2θ approximately 20° and approximately 26°, which are ascribed to the periodicity parallel and perpendicular to the polymer chains, respectively [28]. In the case of PANI(HAuCl4·4H2O), the strong peaks appeared at 2θ values of 38°, 44°, and 64.5° which can be assigned to Bragg’s reflections from the (111), (200), and (220) planes of metal Au [3]. These Bragg’s reflections are in good agreement with the data (JCPDS-ICCD, 870720), which can further prove the existence of Au nanoparticles in the PANI(HAuCl4·4H2O). However, there is no characteristic Bragg’s reflection for metal Pt in the case of PANI(H2PtCl6·6H2O), which is a similar phenomenon to that of Pt nanoparticles deposited on carbon nanotubes using PANI as dispersant and stabilizer [29].