Susceptibility Against Grey Blight Disease-Causing Fungus Pestalotiopsis sp. in Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) Cultivars Is Influenced by Anti-oxidative Enzymes

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is the first level of response by a host during stress. Even though the ROS are toxic to cell, when present in a limited amount, they act as a signalling molecule for the expression of defence-related genes and later are scavenged by either enzymatic or non-enzymatic mechanisms of the host. The different anti-oxidative enzymes like glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APO), peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) were estimated, and their activities were compared between infected and healthy leaves of the tolerant and susceptible cultivars of tea. The infected leaves of the susceptible cultivars registered higher amount of enzyme activity when compared with the tolerant cultivars. The study reveals that the more anti-oxidative enzymes, the more susceptible the cultivar will be.     

Hydrogen-bond interactions in hydrated 6-selenoguanine tautomers: a theoretical study

A comprehensive theoretical investigation has been performed to study the six most stable complexes of isolated, mono, and hexahydrated 6-selenoguanine tautomers. The ground state geometries are studied at the density-functional theory and Møller–Plesset Perturbation theory implementing the 6-311++G (2d, 2p) basis set. The intermolecular distances between the water molecule and the acceptor atom of 6-selenoguanine is about 0.6 Å longer for hydrogen bonds involving selenium atom. The relative Gibbs free energy of the 6-selenoguanine tautomers favors the selenone tautomer. The majority of the stable monohydrated complexes are the one in which the oxygen atom of water accepts the acidic N7-H proton while donating a proton to the carbonyl selenium atom of 6-selenoguanine; the interaction toward N7-H being stronger than that with the selenium site. The amino group planarity has been found to be increased in the hydrated complexes. The examination of molecular orbital reveals a moderate band gap between the donor and acceptor atoms of isolated and hydrated complexes. An excellent linear correlation is found to exist between electron density and laplacian of electron density with hydrogen-bond length through atoms in molecule analysis. The natural bond orbital analysis shows a maximum charge transfer of 0.060e for selenium acceptors and around 0.025e for selenium donors.     

Hydrogen-bonded complexes of serotonin with methanol and ethanol: a DFT study

Density functional theoretical studies on hydrogen-bonded complexes of serotonin with methanol/ethanol have been carried out in a systematic way. The conformational analysis led to ten stable conformers that can be either gauche or anti depending on the dihedral angle values taken by ethylamine side chain and the 5-hydroxyl group. Serotonin-molecules strongly bind with ethanol than methanol. Ethylamine side chain is the most reactive site in both methanol/ethanol complexes and it is responsible for the stability order. The topological parameters, electron density, and Laplacian of electron density show excellent correlation with the hydrogen bond length. Natural bond orbital analysis confirms C–H···O hydrogen bond formed between the serotonin–alcohol complexes to be red shift in nature except for Gph(out)anti complex both with methanol and ethanol to be blue shifted. The energy decomposition analysis reveals that strong interactions between serotonin and ethanol/methanol are due to the attractive contributions from the electrostatic component.     

Highly Emissive Luminogens Based on Imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine for Electroluminescent Applications

A search for novel organic luminogens led us to design and synthesize some N‐fused imidazole derivatives based on imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine as the core and arylamine and imidazole as the peripheral groups. The fluorophores were synthesized through a multicomponent cascade reaction (A³ coupling) of a heterocyclic azine with an aldehyde and alkyne, followed by Suzuki coupling and a multicomponent cyclization reaction. All of the compounds exhibited interesting photophysical responses, especially arylamine‐containing derivatives, which displayed strong positive solvatochromism in the emission spectra that indicated a more polar excited state owing to an efficient charge migration from the donor arylamine to the imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine acceptor. The quantum yields ranged from 0.2 to 0.7 and depended on the substitution pattern, most notably that based on the donor group at the C2 position. Moreover, the influence of general and specific solvent effects on the photophysical properties of the fluorophores was discussed with four‐parameter Catalán and Kamlet–Taft solvent scales. The excellent thermal, electrochemical, and morphological stability of the compounds was explored by cyclic voltammetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and AFM methods. Furthermore, to understand the structure, bonding, and band gap of the molecules, DFT calculations were performed. The performance of the electroluminescence behavior of the imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine derivative was investigated by fabricating a multilayer organic light‐emitting diode with a configuration of ITO/NPB (60 nm)/EML (40 nm)/BCP (15 nm)/Alq₃ (20 nm)/LiF (0.5 nm)/Al(100 nm) (ITO=indium tin oxide, EML=emissive layer, BCP=2,9‐dimethyl‐4,7‐diphenyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline, Alq₃=tris(8‐hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum), which exhibited white emission with a turn‐on voltage of 8 V and a brightness of 22 cd m^?2.     

Synthesis, structure, and polymorphism studies in amine-templated open-framework zinc phosphites

Five new zinc phosphites, [C10N4H26][Zn2(HPO3)4].2H2O, 1, [C10N4H26][Zn5(H2O)4(HPO3)6].4H2O, 2, [C10N4H26][Zn4(HPO3)6].2H2O, 3, [C10N4H26][Zn4(HPO3)6].2H2O, 4, and [Zn2(HPO3)2(C10N4H24)], 5, were synthesized employing solvo/hydrothermal reactions in the presence of 1,4-bis (3-aminopropyl) piperazine (APPIP). Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies indicate that all the compounds form a hierarchy of structures. While the structures 1 and 2 are low-dimensional, 3-5 have three-dimensional connectivity. ZnO4 and HPO3 units form a 4-membered ring and are connected through their corners forming a one-dimensional chain structure in 1. 2 has one-dimensional ladders connected by ZnO2(H2O)4 octahedral units forming a layer with 4- and 8-membered apertures. Compounds 3 and 4 have similar molecular formulae and connectivity, which makes them polymorphic in nature. The amine molecules exist in gauche and all-trans form in 3 and 4, respectively. The amine molecule binds with the zinc center in 5 and acts as a pillar between the two zinc phosphite layers. The present study outlines the possible role of synthesis parameters for the isolation of a number of different structures by employing a single amine molecule, APPIP. The observation of polymorphic structures along with the interconvertibilities of one of the phases is important and noteworthy. The 31P chemical shifts observed in NMR studies, consistent with the single crystal data, have been correlated with the valence sum values of the oxygen that are bound with the distinct phosphorus.     

Quinine and chloroquine differentially perturb heme monomer-dimer equilibrium

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of magnetic susceptibility have been utilized to study the equilibrium between two forms (high-spin monomer vs the antiferromagnetically coupled mu-oxo dimer) of ferriprotoporphyrin(IX) as a function of pH. The pH dependence of this equilibrium is significantly altered by the addition of either chloroquine or quinine. Chloroquine promotes the mu-oxo dimer whereas quinine promotes the monomer.     

A one pot synthesis of annulated carbazole analogs

A ZnBr₂-mediated arylation of N-protected 2/3-bromomethylindoles containing an electron-deficient malonylidene unit with arenes at 80 °C led to the formation of arylated products, which on unprecedented 1,5-sigmatropic rearrangement followed by electrocyclization and subsequent aromatization with loss of diethylmalonate furnished the corresponding annulated carbazoles in reasonable yields.     

Pillaring of CdCl2-like layers in lanthanide metal-organic frameworks: synthesis, structure, and photophysical properties

A hydrothermal reaction of lanthanide salts, pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid, benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid, and water gave rise to a new series of three-dimensional mixed carboxylates (homocyclic and heterocyclic) of lanthanides with the general formula [M2(H2O)4][{C5H3N(COO)2}2{C6H4(COO)2}], M=La (I), Pr (II), and Nd (III). The structure consists of M2O14N2 dimeric units connected by pyridine-2,3-dicarboxylate moieties to form two-dimensional layers that are pillared by terephthalate units. The structures also possess two co-ordinated water molecules, which are arranged to form one-dimensional helical chains and can be reversibly adsorbed. The connectivity within the layers closely resembles that of the CdCl2 layered structure with 3(6) topology. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first observation of CdCl2 topology in lanthanide metal-organic framework compounds. Partial substitution of La3+ in I by Eu3+ and Tb3+ (2 and 4 %) gives rise to characteristic red/pink or green emission, which suggests a ligand-sensitized metal-centered emission. The Nd compound III shows interesting UV and blue emission through an up-conversion process.     

Open-framework structures of transition-metal compounds

Inorganic framework solids are no longer limited to just the silicates and phosphates. Recent research has revealed that carboxylates, arsenates, sulfates, selenates, selenites, germanates, phosphites can also form such structures. One of the emerging areas combines the rich coordination chemistry of the central metal ions of many of these structures with the flexibility and functionality of the organic linkers to give rise to organic-inorganic hybrid compounds. The compounds of the transition-metals appear to provide many variations arising from their coordination preferences, ligand geometry, and the valence state. In addition, the combination of the magnetic nature of the transition metal center with the channel structure of open frameworks suggests interesting potential applications. In this Review the synthesis, structures and properties of the various transition-metal open-framework compounds are discussed.     

Natural radioactivity in soil samples of Yelagiri Hills,Tamil Nadu,India and the associated radiation hazards

The natural radioactivity of soils at Yelagiri hills has been studied in this paper. The radioactivities of 25 samples have been measured with a NaI(Tl) detector. The radioactivity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K ranged from ≤2.17 to 53.23, 13.54 to 89.89 and from 625.09 to 2207.3 Bq kg^?1, respectively. The measured activity concentrations for these radionuclides were compared with world average activity of soil. The average activity concentration of ²³²Th in the present study is 1.19 times higher than world median value while the activity of ²³⁸U and ⁴⁰K is found to be lower. In order to evaluate the radiological hazard of the natural radioactivity, the radium equivalent activity Ra_eq, the absorbed dose rate D_R, the annual effective dose rate and the external hazard index (H_ex) have been calculated and compared with the internationally approved values. The study provides background radioactivity concentrations in Yelagiri hills.