An Efficient Method for Agrobacterium-Mediated Genetic Transformation and Plant Regeneration in Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.)

Cumin is an annual herbaceous medicinally important plant having diverse applications. An efficient and reproducible method of Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation was herein established for the first time. A direct regeneration method without callus induction was optimised using embryos as explant material in Gamborg’s B5 medium supplemented with 0.5-μM 6-benzyladenine and 2.0-μM α-naphthalene acetic acid. About 1,020 embryos (a mean of 255 embryos per batch) were used for the optimisation of transformation conditions. These conditions were an Agrobacterium cell suspension of 0.6 OD₆₀₀, a co-cultivation time of 72 h, 300-μM acetosyringone and wounding of explants using a razor blade. Pre-cultured elongated embryos were treated using optimised conditions. About 720 embryos (a mean of 180 embryos per batch) were used for transformation and 95 % embryos showed transient β-glucuronidase expression after co-cultivation. Putative transformed embryos were cultured on B5 medium for shoot proliferation and 21 regenerated plants were obtained after selection and allowed to root. T₀ plantlets showed β-glucuronidase expression and gene integration was confirmed via PCR amplification of 0.96 and 1.28 kb fragments of the hygromycin-phosphotransferase II and β-glucuronidase genes, respectively. In this study, a transformation efficiency of 1.5 % was demonstrated and a total of 11 transgenic plants were obtained at the hardening stage, however, only four plants acclimatised during hardening. Gene copy number was analysed by Southern blot analysis of hardened plants and single-copy gene integration was observed. This is the first successful attempt of Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of cumin.     

Stereoselective tandem synthesis of oxazolo-fused pyrroloquinolines from o-alkynylaldehydes via Ag(I)-catalyzed regioselective 5-exo-dig ring closure

A tandem approach for the regio- and stereoselective synthesis of oxazolo-fused pyrroloquinolines 3a–l via the reaction of o-alkynylaldehydes 1a–i with chiral amino alcohols 2a–c under mild reaction conditions is described. The possible participation of the pyridine ring in the regioselective formation of 5-exo-dig cyclized products was supported by the controlled experiments. The structures and stereochemistry of the products were confirmed by NOESY and X-ray crystallographic studies.     

Assessment of inhalation exposure potential of broken uranium ore piles in low-grade uranium mine

This paper presents the assessment of inhalation exposure potential of broken uranium ore piles in different stopes of Jaduguda uranium mines of India. ²²²Rn emanation coefficient of broken uranium ore was measured in laboratory by collecting air sample from airtight glass jar containing ore sample. An attempt was also made to correlate the emanation coefficient with ²²⁶Ra content of the ore. The ²²²Rn progeny doses estimated based on radon activity concentration of broken ore, occupancy period and equilibrium ratio in different stopes were well below the prescribed limit of International Commission on Radiological Protection. The maximum ²²²Rn progeny dose contribution from broken ore piles was worked out to be 0.22 mSv year^?1. This suggests that the broken ore piles are not the significant contributor of inhalation exposure under the existing ventilation condition of Jaduguda uranium mine.     

Molecular structural investigations of quinoxaline derivatives through 3D-QSAR,molecular docking,ADME prediction and pharmacophore modeling studies for the search of novel antimalarial agent

In the present article, a dataset of 63 quinoxaline derivatives were taken for antimalarial activity and pharmacophore were developed. Atom based method was used to develop a three dimensional quantitative structure activity relationship (3D-QSAR) model. On comparison of all statistical parameters, model AHRRR23 was found to be the most effective and predictive QSAR model as it satisfied all statistical parameters of a good model. The model AHRRR23 showed an adequate R² value for the training set 0.9446, good predictive power with Q² of 0.6409, good F- value, low SD 0.1218 value and outstanding Pearson-R values and low RMSE 0.2779 values of the model. The docking studies also gives very good results with good RMSD values. 3D QSAR, docking and ADME studies exhibits that the developed model could be employed as a potential lead for further study as antimalarial drug.     

Prediction of thermodynamic and surface properties of Pb−Hg liquid alloys at different temperatures

The thermodynamic properties, such as free energy of mixing, heat of mixing, activity and structural properties, such as concentration fluctuation in long wavelength limit, short-range order parameter of Pb–Hg liquid alloy at 600 K have been calculated using theoretical modelling. It has then been correlated with modified Butler model to compute the surface tension of the alloys at different temperatures. The Pb–Hg system at 600 K is found to be ordering at higher concentration of Pb.     

Hartree-Fock variational bounds for ground state energy of chargeless fermions with finite magnetic moment in the presence of a hard core potential: A stable ferromagnetic state

We use different determinantal Hartree-Fock (HF) wave functions to calculate true variational upper bounds for the ground state energy of N spin-half fermions in volume V ₀, with mass m, electric charge zero, and magnetic moment μ, interacting through magnetic dipole-dipole interaction. We find that at high densities when the average interparticle distance r ₀ becomes small compared to the magnetic length r _m ≡ 2mμ²/ħ², a ferromagnetic state with spheroidal occupation function n _↑(), involving quadrupolar deformation, gives a lower upper bound compared to the variational energy for the uniform paramagnetic state or for the state with dipolar deformation. This system is unstable towards infinite density collapse, but we show explicitly that a suitable short-range repulsive (hard core) interaction of strength U ₀ and range a can stop this collapse. The existence of a stable equilibrium high density ferromagnetic state with spheroidal occupation function is possible as long as the ratio of coupling constants Γ_cm ≡ (U ₀ a ³/μ²) is not very small compared to 1.      

A Molecular Photosensitizer in a Porous Block Copolymer Matrix-Implications for the Design of Photocatalytically Active Membranes

Recently, porous photocatalytically active block copolymer membranes were introduced, based on heterogenized molecular catalysts. Here, we report the integration of the photosensitizer, i. e., the light absorbing unit in an intermolecular photocatalytic system into block copolymer membranes in a covalent manner. We study the resulting structure and evaluate the orientational mobility of the photosensitizer as integral part of the photocatalytic system in such membranes. To this end we utilize transient absorption anisotropy, highlighting the temporal reorientation of the transition dipole moment probed in a femtosecond pump-probe experiment. Our findings indicate that the photosensitizer is rigidly bound to the polymer membrane and shows a large heterogeneity of absolute anisotropy values as a function of location probed within the matrix. This reflects the sample inhomogeneity arising from different protonation states of the photosensitizer and different intermolecular interactions of the photosensitizers within the block copolymer membrane scaffold.     

Imaging of Bacterial and Fungal Cells Using Fluorescent Carbon Dots Prepared from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Carica papaya</Emphasis> Juice

In this paper, we have described a simple hydrothermal method for preparation of fluorescent carbon dots (C-dots) using Carica papaya juice as a precursor. The synthesized C-dots show emission peak at 461 nm with a quantum yield of 7.0 %. The biocompatible nature of C-dots was confirmed by a cytotoxicity assay on E. coli. The C-dots were used as fluorescent probes for imaging of bacterial (Bacillus subtilis) and fungal (Aspergillus aculeatus) cells and emitted green and red colors under different excitation wavelengths, which indicates that the C-dots can be used as a promising material for cell imaging.     

Can Low‐Valent Germanium Chemistry Be Practiced Under Ambient Conditions? A Tale of a Water‐Stable Yet Reactive Germylene Monochloride Complex

A germylene monochloride complex ((DPM)GeCl, 1 ) that is water stable was isolated for the first time. Interestingly, it reacts with cesium fluoride under ambient conditions (non‐inert atmosphere and water‐containing solvent) to afford water stable germylene monofluoride complex ((DPM)GeF, 2 ). Due to the usage of DPM (dipyrrinate) ligand, germylene monohalides 1 and 2 show fluorescence in the visible region at 555 and 538 nm, respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 are the first fluorescent germylene complexes and were characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. The structure of compound 1 was also proved by single crystal X‐ray diffraction studies.