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The present study reports synthesis of phenathroimidazole derivatives structures following donor–acceptor relation for high performance deep-blue light emitting diodes. Herein, methyl substituted benzodioxin-6-amine phenanthroimidazoles Cz-SBDPI and TPA-SBDPI derivatives that provide the blue light were designed and synthesized. These Cz-SBDPI and TPA-SBDPI show higher glass transition (T g ) temperatures of 199 and 194 °C and demonstrate enhanced thermal properties. Apart from enhanced thermal stability these compounds also exhibit superior photophysical, electrochemical and electroluminescent properties. The non-doped carbazole based device display improved electroluminescent performances than those of TPA-based devices. The strong orbital-coupling due to decreased energy barrier between Cz-SBDPI transitions result in deep blue emission with CIE—0.15, 0.06. For non-doped Cz-SBDPI device; high L (brightness):12,984 cd/m 2 ; η c (current efficiency): 5.9 cd/A; η p (power efficiency): 5.7 lm/W and η ex (external quantum efficiency): 6.2% was observed. The results show that the D–A emitters can serve as simple but also as an effective approach to devise cheap electroluminescent materials that has high efficiency and can serve as OLED devices.

Mitochondria form tubular networks that undergo coordinated cycles of fission and fusion. Emerging evidence suggests that a direct yet unresolved interaction of the mechanoenzymatic GTPase dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) with mitochondrial outer membrane–localized cardiolipin (CL), externalized under stress conditions including mitophagy, catalyzes essential mitochondrial hyperfragmentation. Here, using a comprehensive set of structural, biophysical, and cell biological tools, we have uncovered a CL-binding motif (CBM) conserved between the Drp1 variable domain (VD) and the unrelated ADP/ATP carrier (AAC/ANT) that intercalates into the membrane core to effect specific CL interactions. CBM mutations that weaken VD–CL interactions manifestly impair Drp1-dependent fission under stress conditions and induce “donut” mitochondria formation. Importantly, VD membrane insertion and GTP-dependent conformational rearrangements mediate only transient CL nonbilayer topological forays and high local membrane constriction, indicating that Drp1–CL interactions alone are insufficient for fission. Our studies establish the structural and mechanistic bases of Drp1–CL interactions in stressinduced mitochondrial fission.

Fish, being highly sensitive to changes in the physico-chemical parameters of water, are good indicators of contamination. Teesta, a prominent northern West Bengal River system, is increasingly contaminated due to anthropogenic activities. This study aims to determine agricultural pesticide contamination and its genotoxic impact on the resident fish, Pethia conchonius , as an experimental organism. Sample water analysis from three riverine sites I, II & III, showed the presence of the insecticides imidacloprid (IMI), chlorpyrifos (CPF), bifenethrin (BF), cypermethrin (CP), difenthiuron, acetamiprid (AC) in the sites II and III only with adjoining agricultural lands. Comet assay revealed a significantly lower % Head DNA (~ 1.2 times), higher %Tail DNA (~ 16 times), and %Tail length (~ 3.1 times) in the gills of Pethia conchonius from sites II and III. About 4 and 10 times increase of micronuclei and other nuclear abnormalities were also noted in the erythrocytes of the fish from sites II and III than I, which was not contaminated. The antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT, and GST activity and MDA levels were significantly higher ( p <  0.05) in the liver samples from sites II and III, while AChE activity was significantly decreased ( p <  0.001) in the brain tissues. Moreover, the sod , cat , and gpx expression in the hepatic cells were significantly upregulated compared to the β actin mRNA indicating increased oxidative stress. Increased genomic damage, antioxidant enzyme activity, higher MDA levels, decreased AChE activity in the brain, and the upregulation of hepatic genes strongly suggested the genotoxic effects of the detected insecticides in combination with other contaminants.

Insecticidal potential of seven commonly available alkaloids against melon thrips ( Thrips palmi Karny) was investigated through in vivo experiments and the bioactivity was explained via in silico approaches. In vivo screening showed highest mortality of T. plami larvae for reserpine (43%), closely followed by tropinone (41%) after 24 h of incubation. After 48 h, tropinone surpassed reserpine with 83% mortality, indicating its prolonged insecticidal activity. A detailed bioassay of tropinone revealed its LC 50 values as 1187.9 and 686.9 µg mL −1 after 24 and 48 h, respectively. While studying the molecular interactions between the alkaloids and four physiologically important target proteins of T. palmi , tropinone demonstrated the highest ligand efficiency and lowest predicted inhibitory constant, particularly when forming complexes with CathB protein. However, binding energy calculations of the docked complexes showed most favorable binding of reserpine with CathB. To clear the ambiguity, considering both binding energy and ligand efficiency as the evaluation parameters, a molecular dynamics study was carried out, which predicted higher stability of CathB-tropinone complex than CathB-reserpine complex in terms of the total energy of the system. These in silico findings aligned well with the in vivo results, confirming tropinone as a promising candidate for effective thrips management programs.

Nematicidal potential of essential oils (EOs) has been widely reported. Terpenoids present in most of the essential oils have been reported responsible for their bioactivity though very less is known about their modes of action. In the present study, an in vitro screening of nine Eos, namely, Citrus sinensis (OEO), Myrtus communis (MTEO), Eucalyptus citriodora (CEO), Melaleuca alternifolia (TEO), Acorus calamus (AEO), Commiphora myrrha (MREO), Cymbopogon nardus (CNEO), Artemisia absinthium (WEO), and Pogostemon cablin (PEO) against Meloidogyne incognita revealed OEO, CNEO, and TEO as most effective with LC 50 39.37, 43.22, and 76.28 μg ml –1 respectively. EOs had varying compositions of mono- and sesquiterpenes determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The in silico molecular interactions screening of major EO constituents and the seven selected target proteins of the nematode indicated highest binding affinity of geraniol-ODR1 (odorant response gene 1) complex (ΔG = -36.9 kcal mol –1 ), due to extensive H-bonding, hydrophobic and π-alkyl interactions. The relative binding affinity followed the order: geraniol-ODR1 > β-terpineol-ODR1 > citronellal-ODR1 > l -limonene-ODR1 > γ-terpinene-ODR1. Taken together, the cumulative in vitro and computational bioefficacy analysis related to the chemoprofiles of EOs provides useful leads on harnessing the potential of EOs as bionematicides. The insight on biochemical ligand–target protein interactions described in the present work will be helpful in logical selection of biomolecules and essential oils for development of practically viable bionematicidal products.

Saponins are responsible for a wide range of biological activities, which is why the present research is focused on the chemical profiling of saponins and other metabolites from Gymnema sylvestre leaves for their potential efficacy in managing pathogenic fungi. Leaves of the plant was extracted with chloroform to obtain crude saponin concentrates. Characterizations of the chloroform soluble fraction of the leaves [chloroform extract of G. sylvestre (CGS)] in ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time of flight–electrospray ionization–tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QToF-ESI-MS/MS) displayed 23 metabolites, primarily comprising of saponins and other minor phytocomponents. Among these, two major saponins, gymnemic acid IV and gymnestrogenin, were isolated, purified, and characterized using 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). In vitro fungistatic efficacy showed the highest effectiveness against Penicillium digitatum 6952 (EC 50 297.2 μg/mL), followed by Penicillium expansum 2995 (360.5 μg/mL) and Aspergillus flavus 6678 (369.4 μg/mL). Furthermore, the mechanism of interaction of these metabolites to inhibit cyt P 450 sterol 1,4-α-demethylase was determined by in vitro and in silico molecular modeling analysis, explaining the probable reason for the reduction in ergosterol content in the treated fungi. In silico analysis suggested the highest binding efficiency of gymnemic acid IV due to the lowest binding energy, specifically interacted through conventional H-bonds, hydrophobic π-alkyl, π-π, and π-sigma interactions. Indeed, the valuable findings of the study would be useful for further development of Gymnema saponin based biopesticidal products.

Genetic variations in the host TLRs genes play an important role in susceptibility and/or resistance to visceral leishmaniasis by altering the host-pathogen interaction. In this study, we investigated the association between polymorphisms of TLR4 (Asp299Gly, Thr399Ile) and TLR-9 (T-1237C), with susceptibility to visceral leishmaniasis. A bi-directional PCR amplification of specific alleles technique was used to characterize the distribution of TLR4 (Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile) and TLR9 (T-1237C) polymorphisms. A total of 60 samples were randomly selected from confirmed visceral leishmaniasis patients and 24 endemic healthy volunteers. The samples were genotyped and allele frequencies were determined. We observed that TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile genotypes were more frequent in visceral leishmaniasis patients (10% and 15% respectively) compared to controls (4.2% and 8.3% respectively). However, the differences were not significant in TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile alleles and genotypes. In the case of TLR9, we observed the frequency of T1237C genotype was higher in visceral leishmaniasis patients (43.3%) than in healthy controls (33.3%). Statistically significant differences were observed in TLR9 T1237C alleles and genotypes. We concluded that TLR9 T1237C, but not TLR4, gene polymorphisms can be regarded as contributors to visceral leishmaniasis susceptibility among the Indian population of Bihar state.