Identification of novel genes associated with herbicide tolerance in Lentil (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris Medik.).

Weeds pose a major constraint in lentil cultivation, leading to decrease farmers' revenues by reducing the yield and increasing the management costs. The development of herbicide tolerant cultivars is essential to increase lentil yield. Even though herbicide tolerant lines have been identified in lentils, breeding efforts are still limited and lack proper validation. Marker assisted selection (MAS) can increase selection accuracy at early generations. Total 292 lentil accessions were evaluated under different dosages of two herbicides, metribuzin and imazethapyr, during two seasons at Marchouch, Morocco and Terbol, Lebanon. Highly significant differences among accessions were observed for days to flowering (DF) and maturity (DM), plant height (PH), biological yield (BY), seed yield (SY), number of pods per plant (NP), as well as the reduction indices (RI) for PH, BY, SY and NP. A total of 10,271 SNPs markers uniformly distributed along the lentil genome were assayed using Multispecies Pulse SNP chip developed at Agriculture Victoria, Melbourne. Meta-GWAS analysis was used to detect marker-trait associations, which detected 125 SNPs markers associated with different traits and clustered in 85 unique quantitative trait loci. These findings provide valuable insights for initiating MAS programs aiming to enhance herbicide tolerance in lentil crop.

Predicting Quantum-Mechanical Partial Charges in Arbitrarily Long Boron Nitride Nanotubes to Accurately Simulate Nanoscale Water Transport.

Single-walled boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have been explored for various applications, ranging from water desalination to osmotic power harvesting. However, no simulation work so far has modeled the changes in the partial charge distribution when a flat sheet is rolled into a tube, hindering the ability to perform accurate molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of water flow through BNNTs. To address this knowledge gap, we employ electronic density functional theory (DFT) calculations to precisely estimate quantum-mechanically derived partial charges on boron (B) and nitrogen (N) atoms in BNNTs of varying lengths and diameters. We observe a spatially varying charge distribution inside both armchair and zigzag nanotubes of finite lengths. Performing DFT calculations for longer BNNTs is computationally intractable, even with state-of-the-art computing resources. To solve this issue, we devise a charge assignment scheme to predict partial charges for longer BNNTs using DFT data for shorter nanotubes, thus overcoming the need to perform more expensive DFT calculations. We show that these charges reproduce the electrostatic potential predicted from first-principles simulations. Subsequently, we carried out MD simulations to predict the effect of the charge distribution inside BNNTs on water flow enhancement via them. We find that using uniform charges leads to an underprediction in flow enhancement, as compared to using quantum-mechanical charges for both armchair and zigzag BNNTs. We also incorporate atomic vibrations into our simulations and show that these vibrations lead to a reduction in the water flow through aperiodic BNNTs. Our work demonstrates the requirement of a quantum-mechanical charge assignment scheme for BNNTs and evolves a framework to assign charges to nanotubes of arbitrary length, thus allowing realistic MD simulations of long BNNTs using accurate partial charges.

Nanotechnology in Orthodontics: Unveiling Pain Mechanisms, Innovations, and Future Prospects of Nanomaterials in Drug Delivery.

Orthodontic pain is characterized by sensations of tingling, tooth discomfort, and intolerance. According to the oral health report, over forty percent of children and adolescents have undergone orthodontic treatment. The efficacy of orthodontic treatment involving braces can be compromised by the diverse levels of discomfort and suffering experienced by patients, leading to suboptimal treatment outcomes and reduced patient adherence. Nanotechnology has entered all areas of science and technology. This review provides an overview of nanoscience, its application in orthodontics, the underlying processes of orthodontic pain, effective treatment options, and a summary of recent research in Nano-dentistry. The uses of this technology in healthcare span a wide range, including enhanced diagnostics, biosensors, and targeted drug delivery. The reason for this is that nanomaterials possess distinct qualities that depend on their size, which can greatly enhance human well-being and contribute to better health when effectively utilized. The field of dentistry has also experienced significant advancements, particularly in the past decade, especially in the utilization of nanomaterials and technology. Over time, there has been an increase in the availability of dental nanomaterials, and a diverse array of these materials have been extensively studied for both commercial and therapeutic purposes.

Disease spectrum and its molecular characterisation in the lentil production system of lower-Indo Gangetic plains.

Lentil is a food legume grown in the Indo-Gangetic plains including lower Gangetic Bengal (LGB). Lentil productivity in this zone is severely impeded because of the prevalence of several biotic cues. Plausible reports regarding the status of disease scenario and the associated risk factors are missing. Therefore, judicious crop management strategies are lacking. An intensive survey of 267 farmers' fields was conducted over 3 years in major lentil-growing districts of LGB to evaluate the disease incidence and prevalence. Additional insights were generated, apprehending isolation and characterisation of associated pathogens through spore morphology and molecular markers as well as elucidating the role of biophysical factors in influencing disease development. Climate change has shifted the disease dimension of lentil and precipitated new disease complexes of great risk, which was reflected through geospatial mapping results in the present study. The prevalence of three major diseases, namely collar rot (Sclerotium rolfsii), lentil blight complex (LBC) incited by both Alternaria and Stemphylium, and lentil rust (Uromyces viciae-fabae), was ascertained through cultural and molecular studies and contextualised through pathogenicity appraisal. This study is the first to investigate the complex mixed infection of Alternaria alternata and Stemphylium botryosum, successfully isolating S. botyrosum in India, and confirming the pathogens through sequencing by using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) primers and Stemphylium-specific Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1 (gpd1) and gpd2 primers. Unlike late planting, early planting promoted collar rot infestation. LBC and rust incidence were magnified in late planting. Soil texture resulted in the spatial distribution of collar rot disease. The surveyed data also highlighted the potential role of resistant cultivars and cropping pattern intervention to ensure associational resistance towards addressing the disease bottleneck in lentil.

Heavy Atom Effect in Halogenated mCP and Its Influence on the Efficiency of the Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence of Dopant Molecules.

In this study, we explore the impact of halogen functionalization on the photophysical properties of the commonly used organic light-emitting diode (OLED) host material, 1,3-bis(N-carbazolyl)benzene (mCP). Derivatives with different numbers and types of halogen substituents on mCP were synthesized. By measuring steady-state and transient photoluminescence at 6 K, we study the impact of the type, number, and position of the halogens on the intersystem crossing and phosphorescence rates of the compounds. In particular, the functionalization of mCP with 5 bromine atoms results in a significant increase of the intersystem crossing rate by a factor of 300 to a value of (1.5 ± 0.1) × 1010 s-1, and the phosphorescence rate increases by 2 orders of magnitude. We find that the singlet radiative decay rate is not significantly modified in any of the studied compounds. In the second part of the paper, we describe the influence of these compounds on the reverse intersystem crossing of the 7,10-bis(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)-2,3-dicyanopyrazino-phenanthrene (TPA-DCPP), a TADF guest, via the external heavy atom effect. Their use results in an increase of the reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) rate from (8.1 ± 0.8) × 103 s-1 for mCP to (2.7 ± 0.1) × 104 s-1 for mCP with 5 bromine atoms. The effect is even more pronounced for the mCP analogue containing a single iodine atom, which gives a RISC rate of (3.3 ± 0.1) × 104 s-1. Time-dependent DFT calculations reveal the importance of the use of long-range corrected functionals to predict the effect of halogenation on the optical properties of the mCP, and the relativistic approximation (ZORA) is used to provide insight into the strength of the spin-orbit coupling matrix element between the lowest-lying excited singlet and triplet states in the different mCP compounds.

Metabolic Mechanisms Underlying Heat and Drought Tolerance in Lentil Accessions: Implications for Stress Tolerance Breeding.

Climate change has significantly exacerbated the effects of abiotic stresses, particularly high temperatures and drought stresses. This study aims to uncover the mechanisms underlying heat and drought tolerance in lentil accessions. To achieve this objective, twelve accessions were subjected to high-temperature stress (32/20 °C), while seven accessions underwent assessment under drought stress conditions (50% of field capacity) during the reproductive stage. Our findings revealed a significant increase in catalase activity across all accessions under both stress conditions, with ILL7814 and ILL7835 recording the highest accumulations of 10.18 and 9.33 under drought stress, respectively, and 14 µmol H2O2 mg protein-1 min-1 under high temperature. Similarly, ascorbate peroxidase significantly increased in all tolerant accessions due to high temperatures, with ILL6359, ILL7835, and ILL8029 accumulating the highest values with up 50 µmol ascorbate mg protein-1 min-1. In contrast, no significant increase was obtained for all accessions subjected to water stress, although the drought-tolerant accessions accumulated more APX activity (16.59 t to 25.08 µmol ascorbate mg protein-1 min-1) than the sensitive accessions. The accessions ILL6075, ILL7814, and ILL8029 significantly had the highest superoxide dismutase activity under high temperature, while ILL6363, ILL7814, and ILL7835 accumulated the highest values under drought stress, each with 22 to 25 units mg protein-1. Under both stress conditions, ILL7814 and ILL7835 recorded the highest contents in proline (38 to 45 µmol proline/g FW), total flavonoids (0.22 to 0.77 mg QE g-1 FW), total phenolics (7.50 to 8.79 mg GAE g-1 FW), total tannins (5.07 to 20 µg CE g-1 FW), and total antioxidant activity (60 to 70%). Further, ILL7814 and ILL6338 significantly recorded the highest total soluble sugar content under high temperature (71.57 and 74.24 mg g-1, respectively), while ILL7835 achieved the maximum concentration (125 mg g-1) under drought stress. The accessions ILL8029, ILL6104, and ILL7814 had the highest values of reducing sugar under high temperature with 0.62 to 0.79 mg g-1, whereas ILL6075, ILL6363, and ILL6362 accumulated the highest levels of this component under drought stress with 0.54 to 0.66 mg g-1. Overall, our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the metabolomic responses of lentil to drought and heat stresses, serving as a valuable reference for lentil stress tolerance breeding.

Antiviral activity of zinc against hepatitis viruses: current status and future prospects.

Viral hepatitis is a major public health concern globally. World health organization aims at eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. Among the hepatitis causing viruses, hepatitis B and C are primarily transmitted via contaminated blood. Hepatitis A and E, which gets transmitted primarily via the feco-oral route, are the leading cause of acute viral hepatitis. Although vaccines are available against some of these viruses, new cases continue to be reported. There is an urgent need to devise a potent yet economical antiviral strategy against the hepatitis-causing viruses (denoted as hepatitis viruses) for achieving global elimination of viral hepatitis. Although zinc was known to mankind for a long time (since before Christ era), it was identified as an element in 1746 and its importance for human health was discovered in 1963 by the pioneering work of Dr. Ananda S. Prasad. A series of follow up studies involving zinc supplementation as a therapy demonstrated zinc as an essential element for humans, leading to establishment of a recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 15 milligram zinc [United States RDA for zinc]. Being an essential component of many cellular enzymes and transcription factors, zinc is vital for growth and homeostasis of most living organisms, including human. Importantly, several studies indicate potent antiviral activity of zinc. Multiple studies have demonstrated antiviral activity of zinc against viruses that cause hepatitis. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the findings on antiviral activity of zinc against hepatitis viruses, discusses the mechanisms underlying the antiviral properties of zinc and summarizes the prospects of harnessing the therapeutic benefit of zinc supplementation therapy in reducing the disease burden due to viral hepatitis.

Impact of Terminal Heat and Combined Heat-Drought Stress on Plant Growth, Yield, Grain Size, and Nutritional Quality in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Chickpea is the third most consumed pulse and provides a kit of essential nutrients for an exponential population. High temperatures and drought stress are two major abiotic stresses that cause serious effects on chickpea growth and development. The comprehension of abiotic stresses' impact on chickpea productivity and nutritional quality will permit the selection of promising genotypes. The current study aimed to assess the impact of heat and drought stresses on plant growth, grain yield and its components, grain size, and nutritional quality in chickpea. For this purpose, 43 international chickpea genotypes were evaluated under normal, heat, and combined heat-drought stress conditions. The findings revealed a significant decrease of over 50% in plant height, biological yield, and seed yield under both stress conditions. Grain size and hundred-seed weight were the most heritable traits under normal, heat, and combined heat-drought stress. Proteins were accumulated under both stresses, evolving from 20.26% for normal conditions to 22.19% for heat stress and to 21.94% for combined heat-drought stress. For minerals, significant variation between treatments was observed for Mn, Mg, and Na. Our results also showed a significant impact of genotype and genotype-environment interaction factors only on K content. Using selection indices, 22 genotypes were identified as highly tolerant to the combined heat-drought stress, while eleven genotypes were heat-tolerant. Mineral profile analysis according to the contrasting tolerance clusters revealed decreased potassium content in susceptible genotypes, indicating genetic potential in the studied chickpea collection, ensuring tolerance to both stresses while maintaining good grain quality.

Drivers of vaccine hesitancy among vulnerable populations in India: a cross-sectional multi-state study.

Objectives: India's Covid-19 vaccination campaign engaged frontline workers (FLWs) to encourage vaccination among vulnerable segments of society. The FLWs report encountering a variety of barriers to vaccination and are often unsuccessful despite multiple visits to the same person. This cross-sectional study aims to pinpoint which of these barriers drive vaccine hesitancy among these segments, to help streamline vaccine communication, including FLW training, to better safeguard the population. Methods: Trained field enumerators contacted 893 individuals from five states across India and collected self-reported assessments of fifteen vaccination barriers (identified through discussions with FLWs), current vaccination status and future vaccination intentions, and covariates (demographics/comorbidities). Factor analysis of the fifteen barriers yielded two factors, one relating to fear of vaccine adverse effects and a second focused on peripheral concerns regarding the vaccine. The covariates significantly associated with current vaccination status were combined under a latent class regime to yield three cluster types (health access, financial strength, and demographics). The primary analysis examined the effect of the two barrier factors, the covariate clusters, and comorbidity, on current vaccination status and future vaccine intentions. Results: Fear of vaccine adverse effects was the primary driver of vaccine hesitancy; peripheral concerns frequently mentioned by the FLWs had no impact. Although cluster membership and the presence of comorbidities predicted vaccine uptake, neither of them materially altered the effect of fear of vaccine adverse effects with the following exception: fear of adverse effects was not associated with vaccination status among young Muslim men. Conclusion: Subject to limitations, these results indicate that interventions to decrease vaccine hesitancy should focus primarily on fear associated with vaccines rather than spend resources trying to address peripheral concerns.

Impact of Heat and Drought Stress on Grasspea and Its Wild Relatives.

Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is recognized as a highly drought-tolerant legume. However, excessive consumption of its seeds and green tissues causes neurolathyrism, a condition characterized by an irreversible paralysis of the legs induced by a neurotoxin amino acid called ß-N-oxalyl-L-α, ß- diaminopropionic acid (ß-ODAP). The present study investigated the effects of heat, and combined heat + drought during the reproductive phase on physiological and phenological parameters, yield-related factors, ODAP content, and seed protein of 24 genotypes representing 11 Lathyrus species under controlled conditions. Analysis of variance revealed a highly significant effect (p < 0.001) of stress treatments and genotypes for all the traits. In general, heat stress individually or in combination with drought expedited phenology, reduced relative leaf water content, stimulated proline synthesis, and influenced chlorophyll concentration; the effects were more severe under the combined heat + drought stress. ODAP content in seeds ranged from 0.06 to 0.30% under no-stress conditions. However, under heat stress, there was a significant increase of 33% in ODAP content, and under combined stress (heat + drought), the increase reached 83%. Crude protein content ranged from 15.64 to 28.67% among no stress plants and decreased significantly by 23% under heat stress and by 36% under combined stress. The findings of this study also indicated substantial reductions in growth and grain yield traits under both heat stress and combined heat + drought stress. Six accessions namely IG 66026, IG 65018, IG 65687, IG 118511, IG 64931, and IG65273 were identified as having the most favorable combination of yield, protein content, and seed ODAP levels across all conditions. ODAP content in these six accessions varied from 0.07 to 0.11% under no stress and remained at moderate levels during both heat stress (0.09-0.14%) and combined stress (0.11-0.17%). IG 66026 was identified as the most stable genotype under drought and heat stress conditions with high protein content, and low ODAP content. By identifying those promising accessions, our results have established a basis for forthcoming grasspea breeding initiatives while paving the way for future research exploration into the fundamental mechanisms driving ODAP variation in the presence of both heat and drought stress conditions.

Genome-wide association studies for phenological and agronomic traits in mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek).

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) is one of the important warm-season food legumes, contributing substantially to nutritional security and environmental sustainability. The genetic complexity of yield-associated agronomic traits in mungbean is not well understood. To dissect the genetic basis of phenological and agronomic traits, we evaluated 153 diverse mungbean genotypes for two phenological (days to heading and days to maturity) and eight agronomic traits (leaf nitrogen status using SPAD, plant height, number of primary branches, pod length, number of pods per plant, seeds per pod, 100-seed weight, and yield per plant) under two environmental conditions. A wide array of phenotypic variability was apparent among the studied genotypes for all the studied traits. The broad sense of heritability of traits ranged from 0.31 to 0.95 and 0.21 to 0.94 at the Delhi and Ludhiana locations, respectively. A total of 55,634 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained by the genotyping-by-sequencing method, of which 15,926 SNPs were retained for genome-wide association studies (GWAS). GWAS with Bayesian information and linkage-disequilibrium iteratively nested keyway (BLINK) model identified 50 SNPs significantly associated with phenological and agronomic traits. In total, 12 SNPs were found to be significantly associated with phenological traits across environments, explaining 7%-18.5% of phenotypic variability, and 38 SNPs were significantly associated with agronomic traits, explaining 4.7%-27.6% of the phenotypic variability. The maximum number of SNPs (15) were located on chromosome 1, followed by seven SNPs each on chromosomes 2 and 8. The BLAST search identified 19 putative candidate genes that were involved in light signaling, nitrogen responses, phosphorus (P) transport and remobilization, photosynthesis, respiration, metabolic pathways, and regulating growth and development. Digital expression analysis of 19 genes revealed significantly higher expression of 12 genes, viz. VRADI01G08170, VRADI11G09170, VRADI02G00450, VRADI01G00700, VRADI07G14240, VRADI03G06030, VRADI02G14230, VRADI08G01540, VRADI09G02590, VRADI08G00110, VRADI02G14240, and VRADI02G00430 in the roots, cotyledons, seeds, leaves, shoot apical meristems, and flowers. The identified SNPs and putative candidate genes provide valuable genetic information for fostering genomic studies and marker-assisted breeding programs that improve yield and agronomic traits in mungbean.

Hesperidin: Enrichment, forced degradation, and structural elucidation of potential degradation products using spectral techniques.

RATIONALE: Hesperidin (HES) is a well-known citrus bioflavonoid phyto-nutraceutical agent with polypharmacological properties. After 2019, HES was widely used for prophylaxis and COVID-19 treatment. Moreover, it is commonly prescribed for treating varicose veins and other diseases in routine clinical practice. Pharmaceutical impurities and degradation products (DP) impact the drug's quality and safety and thus its effectiveness. Therefore, forced degradation studies help study drug stability, degradation mechanisms, and their DPs. This study was performed because stress stability studies using detailed structural characterization of hesperidin are currently unavailable in the literature. METHODS: In the HES enrichment method crude HES was converted to its pure form (98% purity) using column chromatography and then subjected to forced degradation under acid, base, and neutral hydrolyses followed by oxidative, reductive, photolytic, and thermal stress testing (International Conference on Harmonization guidelines). The stability-indicating analytical method (SIAM) was developed to determine DPs using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (C18 column with methanol and 0.1% v/v acetic acid in deionized water [70:30, v/v] at 284 nm). Further, structural characterization of DPs was performed using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In addition, in silico toxicity predictions were performed using pKCSM and DataWarior freeware. RESULTS: HES was found to be susceptible to acidic and basic hydrolytic conditions and yielded three DPs in each, which were detected using designed SIAM. Of six DPs, three were pseudo-DPs (short lived), and the remaining were characterized using LC-MS/MS and NMR spectroscopy. The tentative mechanism of the formation of proposed DPs was explained. The proposed DPs were found inactive from in silico toxicity predictions. CONCLUSIONS: Hesperidin was labile under acidic and basic stress conditions. The potential DPs were characterized using LC-ESI-MS/MS and NMR spectral techniques. The proposed mechanism of formation was hypothesized. In addition, to identify and characterize the DPs, a SIAM, which has broad biomedical applications, was successfully developed.

Microbial Diversity and Functional Potential of Keem: A Traditional Starter Culture for Alcoholic Beverage-Application of Next-Generation Amplicon and Shotgun Metagenome Sequences.

"Pakhoi" is an ethnic drink of the Tons valley, Uttarakhand, India produced by fermenting jaggery and barley with the help of a starter culture called "keem". In the present study, we investigated the microbial diversity and associated functional potential of "keem" using shotgun metagenome sequencing and amplicon sequencing. We also compared the taxonomic data obtained using these two sequencing techniques. The results showed that shotgun sequencing revealed a higher resolution of taxonomic profiling as compared to the amplicon sequencing. Furthermore, it was found that the genera detected by shotgun sequencing were valuable for facilitating the fermentation process. Additionally, to understand the functional profiling of the genera, different databases were used for annotation, resulting in a total of 13 metabolic pathways. The five most abundant KEGG functions were genetic information processing, metabolism, translation, cofactor and vitamin metabolism and xenobiotic degradation. In contrast, the top five COG were in order of highest frequency sequences belonging to transcription, followed by general function prediction, carbohydrate transport metabolism, amino acid transport and metabolism and translation and biogenesis. Gene ontology revealed many pathways, biochemical processes and molecular functions associated with the organisms forming the starter culture. Overall, the present study can help to understand the microbial diversity and its role in fermentation of traditional alcoholic beverages using "Keem".

Preclinical Pharmacokinetics and CYP Modulation Activity of Chebulinic Acid: A Potent Molecule Against Metabolic Disease.

BACKGROUND: Chebulinic acid (CA) is an active constituent of Terminalia chebula fruits with therapeutic potential against multiple metabolic diseases, including dementia, benign prostate hyperplasia, and osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE: The present work intends to explore the preclinical pharmacokinetics, including the absolute bioavailability of CA and its influence on the gene expression of cytochrome P450 enzymes in the liver. METHODS: Quantifying CA and probe drugs in vitro samples and preclinical serum samples of male SD rats were performed using LC-MS/MS. The influence of CA on the hepatic CYPs and their gene expression was analyzed in rat liver by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The plasma protein binding was found to be 84.81 ± 7.70 and 96.34 ± 3.12, blood-to-plasma ratio of 0.62 ± 0.16 and 0.80 ± 0.23 at 1 µM and 10 µM concentrations, respectively. Again, the absolute oral bioavailability of CA at 100 mg/kg was found to be 37.56 ± 7.3%. The in-vivo pharmacokinetic profile of probe drugs revealed CA to have significant inducing effects on CYP1A2, 2C11, 2D2, and 2E1 after 14 days, which correlates to both in-vitro rat microsomal data and gene expression results. CONCLUSION: Altogether, pharmacokinetic parameters reveal CA to have an affinity to distribute across different extravascular tissues and induce rat liver CYP enzymes.

Seed nutritional quality in lentil (Lens culinaris) under different moisture regimes.

The world's most challenging environmental issue is climate change. Agricultural productivity and nutritional quality are both substantially threatened by extreme and unpredicted climate events. To develop climate resilient cultivars, stress tolerance along with the grain quality needs to be prioritized. Present study was planned to assess the effect of water limitation on seed quality in lentil, a cool season legume crop. A pot experiment was carried out with 20 diverse lentil genotypes grown under normal (80% field capacity) and limited (25% field capacity) soil moisture. Seed protein, Fe, Zn, phytate, protein and yield were recorded in both the conditions. Seed yield and weight were reduced by 38.9 and 12.1%, respectively, in response to stress. Seed protein, Fe, Zn, its availability as well as antioxidant properties also reduced considerably, while genotype dependent variation was noted with respect to seed size traits. Positive correlation was observed between seed yield and antioxidant activity, seed weight and Zn content and availability in stress. Based on principal component analysis and clustering, IG129185, IC559845, IC599829, IC282863, IC361417, IG334, IC560037, P8114 and L5126 were promising genotypes for seed size, Fe and protein content, while, FLIP-96-51, P3211 and IC398019 were promising for yield, Zn and antioxidant capacity. Identified lentil genotypes can be utilized as trait donors for quality improvement in lentil breeding.

Insight into Unusual Supramolecular Self-Assemblies of Terthiophenes Directed by Weak Hydrogen Bonding.

A supramolecular self-assembly of semiconducting polymers and small molecules plays an important role in charge transportation, performance, and lifetime of an optoelectronic device. Tremendous efforts have been put into the strategies to self-organize these materials. In this regard, here, we present the self-organization of terthiophene and its methyl alcohol derivative with 4,4'-bipyridine (44BiPy). An unexpected 2D layered organization of 5,5″-dimethyl-2,2':5',2″-terthiophene (DM3T) and 44BiPy was obtained and analyzed. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that DM3T and 44BiPy consist of stacked, almost independent, infinite 2D layers while held together by weak hydrogen bonds. In addition to this peculiar supramolecular arrangement of these compounds, the investigation of their photophysical properties showed strong fluorescence quenching of DM3T by 44BiPy in the solid state, suggesting an efficient charge transfer. On the other hand, the methyl alcohol derivative of terthiophene, DM3TMeOH, organized in a closed cyclic motif with 44BiPy via hydrogen bonds.

Evolution of Mn1-xGexBi2Te4 Electronic Structure under Variation of Ge Content.

One of the approaches to manipulate MnBi2Te4 properties is the magnetic dilution, which inevitably affects the interplay of magnetism and band topology in the system. In this work, we carried out angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations for analysing changes in the electronic structure of Mn1-xGexBi2Te4 that occur under parameter x variation. We consider two ways of Mn/Ge substitution: (i) bulk doping of the whole system; (ii) surface doping of the first septuple layer. For the case (i), the experimental results reveal a decrease in the value of the bulk band gap, which should be reversed by an increase when the Ge concentration reaches a certain value. Ab-initio calculations show that at Ge concentrations above 50%, there is an absence of the bulk band inversion of the Te pz and Bi pz contributions at the Γ-point with significant spatial redistribution of the states at the band gap edges into the bulk, suggesting topological phase transition in the system. For case (ii) of the vertical heterostructure Mn1-xGexBi2Te4/MnBi2Te4, it was shown that an increase of Ge concentration in the first septuple layer leads to effective modulation of the Dirac gap in the absence of significant topological surface states of spatial redistribution. The results obtained indicate that surface doping compares favorably compared to bulk doping as a method for the Dirac gap value modulation.

Strategies for identifying stable lentil cultivars (Lens culinaris Medik) for combating hidden hunger, malnourishment, and climate variability.

Iron and zinc malnutrition is a global humanitarian concern that mostly affects newborns, children, and women in low- and middle-income countries where plant-based diets are regularly consumed. This kind of malnutrition has the potential to result in a number of immediate and long-term implications, including stunted growth, an elevated risk of infectious diseases, and poor development, all of which may ultimately cause children to not develop to the fullest extent possible. A determination of the contributions from genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interactions is necessary for the production of nutrient-dense lentil varieties that offer greater availability of iron and zinc with a high level of trait stability. Understanding the genotype and environmental parameters that affect G x E (Genotype x Environment) interactions is essential for plant breeding. We used GGE(Genotype, Genotype x Environment interactions) and AMMI (Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction) models to study genetic stability and GE(Genotype x Environment interactions) for grain Fe, Zn, Al, and anti-nutritional factors like phytic acid content in sixteen commercially produced lentil cultivars over several different six geographical locations across India. Significant genetic variability was evident in the Fe and Zn levels of different genotypes of lentils. The amounts of grain iron, zinc, and phytic acid varied from 114.10 to 49.90 mg/kg, 74.62 to 21.90 mg/kg, and 0.76 to 2.84 g/100g (dw) respectively. The environment and GE (Genotype x Environment interactions) had an impact on the concentration of grain Fe, Zn, and phytic acid (PA). Heritability estimations ranged from low to high (53.18% to 99.48%). The study indicated strong correlation between the contents of Fe and Zn, a strategy for simultaneously increasing Fe and Zn in lentils may be recommended. In addition, our research revealed that the stable and ideal lentil varieties L4076 (Pusa Shivalik) for Fe concentration and L4717 (Pusa Ageti) for Zn content, which have lower phytic acid contents, will not only play an essential role as stable donors in the lentil bio-fortification but will also enable the expansion of the growing area of bio-fortified crops for the security of health and nutrition.

Exploring the role of microbes for the management of persistent organic pollutants.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals which have been persisting in the environment for many years due to their longer half-lives. POPs have gained attention over the last few decades due to the unsustainable management of chemicals which led to their widespread and massive contamination of biota from different strata and environments. Due to the widespread distribution, bio-accumulation and toxic behavior, POPs have become a risk for organisms and environment. Therefore, a focus is required to eliminate these chemicals from the environment or transform into non-toxic forms. Among the available techniques for the removal of POPs, most of them are inefficient or incur high operational costs. As an alternative to this, microbial bioremediation of POPs such as pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, pharmaceuticals and personal care products is much more efficient and cost-effective. Additionally, bacteria play a vital role in the biotransformation and solubilization of POPs, which reduces their toxicity. This review specifies the Stockholm Convention that evaluates the risk profile for the management of existing as well as emerging POPs. The sources, types and persistence of POPs along with the comparison of conventional elimination and bioremediation methods of POPs are discussed comprehensively. This study demonstrates the existing bioremediation techniques of POPs and summaries the potential of microbes which serve as enhanced, cost-effective, and eco-friendly approach for POPs elimination.