Samara National Research University

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.

The occurrence of interpenetration in metal–organic and inorganic networks has been investigated by a systematic analysis of the CSD and ICSD structural databases. For this purpose, a novel version of TOPOS (a program package for multipurpose crystallochemical analysis) has been employed, where the procedure of recognition of interpenetrating nets is based on the representation of a crystal structure as a finite reduced graph. In this paper we report a comprehensive list (301 Refcodes) of interpenetrating metal–organic 3D structures from CSD, that are analyzed on the basis of their topologies. Interesting trends and novel features have been observed and distinct classes of interpenetrating nets have been envisaged, depending on the relationships of the individual motifs.

The principal features of the package are as follows. (i) Management of crystal structure information with DBMS (database management system) which has gateways to the CSD and ICSD databases. (ii) Comprehensive analysis of geometrical and topological properties of crystal structures (employing the programs Dirichlet, AutoCN, ADS, DiAn, IsoCryst and IsoTest). (iii) Special facilities for statistical analysis of large sets of crystal structures (the program StatPack). In addition to the programs contained in the previous version (Blatov et al., 1999), version 3.2 includes the following two programs. (a) IsoTest, which provides an automatic search for the topological similarity (isotypism) in large groups of stoichiometrically and structurally different compounds, on three levels: the whole topological and geometrical similarity (crystal-chemical isotypism; Lima-deFaria et al., 1990); only the whole or partial topological similarity of crystal structures (topological isotypism; Blatov, 2000); topological similarity of separate atomic subnets and packings. (b) HSite, which searches for hydrogen positions in crystal structures of organic, organometallic and inorganic compounds. Besides traditional methods of geometrical and statistical analysis, and graphical representation of crystal structures (the programs DiAn, IsoCryst and StatPack), there are two novel concepts used in TOPOS algorithms: the concept of an atomic domain represented as a Voronoi±Dirichlet polyhedron (the program Dirichlet; Blatov et al., 1995) and the concept of a periodic net described as a contracted graph (the programs ADS, AutoCN and IsoTest; Blatov, 2000). The program IsoTest automatically enumerates all variants of topological representation of crystal structures and ®nds similar ones through a given list of compounds by comparing coordination sequences (Brunner & Laves, 1971) of corresponding atomic subnets (Blatov, 2000). The program HSite uses characteristics of Voronoi±Dirichlet polyhedra to predict the optimal positions of hydrogen atoms and orientation of atomic groups.

We review the various kinds of symbols used to characterize the topology of vertices in 3-periodic nets, tiles and polyhedra, and symbols for tilings, making a recommendation for uniform nomenclature where there is some confusion and misapplication of terminology.

We discuss a recently developed approach to formalize the analysis of extended architectures by successive simplifications of a crystal structure perceived as a periodic net. The approach has been implemented into the program package TOPOS that allows one to simplify and classify coordination polymers of any complexity in an automated mode. Using TOPOS, we retrieved 6620 3-periodic coordination polymers from the Cambridge Structural Database and represented them in a standard way as underlying nets. The topological classification of both 975 interpenetrating and 5645 single 3-periodic underlying nets has been performed and compared. The up-to-date methods for prediction of the topology of underlying nets are discussed and the ways to develop reticular chemistry are outlined.

The Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance organized the concurrent preparation of Report Cards on the physical activity of children and youth in 38 countries from 6 continents (representing 60% of the world's population). Nine common indicators were used (Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behavior, Family and Peers, School, Community and the Built Environment, and Government Strategies and Investments), and all Report Cards were generated through a harmonized development process and a standardized grading framework (from A = excellent, to F = failing). The 38 Report Cards were presented at the International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in Bangkok, Thailand on November 16, 2016. The consolidated findings are summarized in the form of a Global Matrix demonstrating substantial variation in grades both within and across countries. Countries that lead in certain indicators often lag in others. Average grades for both Overall Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior around the world are D (low/poor). In contrast, the average grade for indicators related to supports for physical activity was C. Lower-income countries generally had better grades on Overall Physical Activity, Active Transportation, and Sedentary Behaviors compared with higher-income countries, yet worse grades for supports from Family and Peers, Community and the Built Environment, and Government Strategies and Investments. Average grades for all indicators combined were highest (best) in Denmark, Slovenia, and the Netherlands. Many surveillance and research gaps were apparent, especially for the Active Play and Family and Peers indicators. International cooperation and cross-fertilization is encouraged to address existing challenges, understand underlying determinants, conceive innovative solutions, and mitigate the global childhood inactivity crisis. The paradox of higher physical activity and lower sedentary behavior in countries reporting poorer infrastructure, and lower physical activity and higher sedentary behavior in countries reporting better infrastructure, suggests that autonomy to play, travel, or chore requirements and/or fewer attractive sedentary pursuits, rather than infrastructure and structured activities, may facilitate higher levels of physical activity.

Abstract As an alternative technology to energy intensive distillations, adsorptive separation by porous solids offers lower energy cost and higher efficiency. Herein we report a topology-directed design and synthesis of a series of Zr-based metal-organic frameworks with optimized pore structure for efficient separation of C6 alkane isomers, a critical step in the petroleum refining process to produce gasoline with high octane rating. Zr 6 O 4 (OH) 4 (bptc) 3 adsorbs a large amount of n -hexane but excluding branched isomers. The n -hexane uptake is ~70% higher than that of a benchmark adsorbent, zeolite-5A. A derivative structure, Zr 6 O 4 (OH) 8 (H 2 O) 4 (abtc) 2 , is capable of discriminating all three C6 isomers and yielding a high separation factor for 3-methylpentane over 2,3-dimethylbutane. This property is critical for producing gasoline with further improved quality. Multicomponent breakthrough experiments provide a quantitative measure of the capability of these materials for separation of C6 alkane isomers. A detailed structural analysis reveals the unique topology, connectivity and relationship of these compounds.

Cite we must, cite we do. We cite because we are links in a chain, using properties and methods validated by others. We also cite to negotiate the anxiety of influence. And to be fair. After outlining the reasons for citation, we use two case studies of citation amnesia in the field of hypothetical carbon allotropes to present a computer-age search tool (SACADA) in that subsubfield. Finally, we advise on good search practice, including what to do if you miss a citation. In a classic of scholarship, “On the Shoulders of Giants,”1 Robert K. Merton, a great sociologist of science, traces the involuted history of a remark by Isaac Newton, “If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants.” Merton's book is also a humanist romp, a deliciously humorous dissection of scholarly pretensions, including his own. Merton follows The Aphorism, as he labels this apposite expression, back to Bernard of Chartres. And he documents its passage through a menagerie of more or less illustrious Gallic, Jewish, and Anglo-Saxon writers, to Newton, and past him to Claude Bernard, Bukharin, and Freud. Each should have cited the source of that seductive simile. Some did, some made up imaginary sources. Still others just tried to pass the expression off as their own creation, deigning citation unimportant. Meanwhile, The Aphorism kept its hold. Because it packages in a physical metaphor a truth: Even when we imagine (and want others to acknowledge) that our piece of hard-won knowledge is novel, better, or deeper than that which came before, we know that in fact it depends on what others have done previously. The novelist's citations are hidden, for PhD students to disinter. The scientist (male and female) is perforce and explicitly homo citans et citatus. This essay will first take a look at the reasons why appropriate citation is essential to the well-being of our profession. It will then pass from ideals to two case studies of failures in citation in one subfield of chemistry and physics, that of hypothetical carbon allotropes.2, 3 One of these cases has managed in three decades to accumulate an intricacy that took eight centuries for The Aphorism. Fault finding is easy; we will try to move beyond it in two ways. First, by giving down-to-earth suggestions for more-effective literature searching, and even advice on what to do if, God forbid, you should be guilty of omitting a crucial citation. And second, by introducing, at least in the specific subfield we discuss, a computer-age tool for avoiding making a fool of yourself. The reasons are numerous; here is a selection. 1. The tradition of scholarship. To mix similes, if not dwarves on the shoulders of giants, we are links in a chain. Citation is natural, as old as the laziness that is most often behind the failure to give credit where credit is due. European, African, and Asian scholarly cultures have left us with a tradition. This is worth upholding, and not just in Anatevka. Take a look the citation-studded orthography of a page of the Talmud (redacted 600 CE),4 or Confucius (551–479 BC), which cites the older texts of the Shangshu (Shu-ching, Book of Documents),5 and you will see the scholarly chain displayed. Anthony Grafton, in his delicious book, “The Footnote: A Curious History,” traces the evolution of referencing in European historical scholarship from the Renaissance onwards.6 2. History. Yes, there are new things in this world—a gram of buckminsterfullerene, special relativity. But everything, absolutely everything, even the molecule and theory named, has antecedents. Reserving ethical considerations for a separate we are and the new came is and we In our we use by others. 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Mass spectra of baryons consisting of two heavy $(b$ or $c)$ and one light quark are calculated in the framework of the relativistic quark model. The light-quark--heavy-diquark structure of the baryon is assumed. Under this assumption the ground and excited states of both the diquark and quark-diquark bound system are considered. The quark-diquark potential is constructed. The light quark is treated completely relativistically, while the expansion in the inverse heavy quark mass is used revealing the close similarity with the mass spectra of B and D mesons. We find that the relativistic treatment of the light quark plays an important role. The level inversion of the p-wave excitations of the light quark in doubly heavy baryons is discussed.

We report on a novel approach to the realization of nematic liquid-crystal (LC) phase correctors to form spherical and cylindrical wave fronts. A LC cell with a distributed reactive electrical impedance was driven by an ac voltage applied to the cell boundary to yield the desired spatial distribution of the refractive index. The two-dimensional function of the phase delay introduced into the light beam depends on the frequency of the ac control voltage, the geometry of the boundary electrode surrounding the LC cell, and the electrical parameters of the cell. We realized a cylindrical adaptive lens with a clear aperture of 15 mm x 4mm and a spherical adaptive lens with circular aperture of 6.5 mm. Both devices are capable of focusing collimated light in the range infinity...0.5 m.

Currently, cylindrical beams with radial or azimuthal polarization are being used successfully for the optical manipulation of micro- and nano-particles as well as in microscopy, lithography, nonlinear optics, materials processing, and telecommunication applications. The creation of these laser beams is carried out using segmented polarizing plates, subwavelength gratings, interference, or light modulators. Here, we demonstrate the conversion of cylindrically polarized laser beams from a radial to an azimuthal polarization, or vice versa, by introducing a higher-order vortex phase singularity. To simultaneously generate several vortex phase singularities of different orders, we utilized a multi-order diffractive optical element. Both the theoretical and the experimental results regarding the radiation transmitted through the diffractive optical element show that increasing the order of the phase singularity leads to more efficient conversation of the polarization from radial to azimuthal. This demonstrates a close connection between the polarization and phase states of electromagnetic beams, which has important implications in many optical experiments.

The scintillation index of plane and spherical light waves as well as of a Gaussian beam, propagating in the clear-water weakly turbulent ocean, is revealed. The results are of utmost importance for underwater optical communications and sensing. An analysis of the threshold between the weak and strong regimes of oceanic turbulence is made, with the accent on the contribution from salinity-induced turbulence. It is found that strong oceanic turbulence can occur at distances as short as several meters, in striking contrast with atmospheric studies for which the typical distances are on the order of a kilometer.

The expansion of renewable energy and the growing number of electric vehicles and mobile devices are demanding improved and low-cost electrochemical energy storage. In order to meet the future needs for energy storage, novel material systems with high energy densities, readily available raw materials, and safety are required. Currently, lithium and lead mainly dominate the battery market, but apart from cobalt and phosphorous, lithium may show substantial supply challenges prospectively, as well. Therefore, the search for new chemistries will become increasingly important in the future, to diversify battery technologies. But which materials seem promising? Using a selection algorithm for the evaluation of suitable materials, the concept of a rechargeable, high-valent all-solid-state aluminum-ion battery appears promising, in which metallic aluminum is used as the negative electrode. On the one hand, this offers the advantage of a volumetric capacity four times higher (theoretically) compared to lithium analog. On the other hand, aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust. There is a mature industry and recycling infrastructure, making aluminum very cost efficient. This would make the aluminum-ion battery an important contribution to the energy transition process, which has already started globally. So far, it has not been possible to exploit this technological potential, as suitable positive electrodes and electrolyte materials are still lacking. The discovery of inorganic materials with high aluminum-ion mobility-usable as solid electrolytes or intercalation electrodes-is an innovative and required leap forward in the field of rechargeable high-valent ion batteries. In this review article, the constraints for a sustainable and seminal battery chemistry are described, and we present an assessment of the chemical elements in terms of negative electrodes, comprehensively motivate utilizing aluminum, categorize the aluminum battery field, critically review the existing positive electrodes and solid electrolytes, present a promising path for the accelerated development of novel materials and address problems of scientific communication in this field.

Since the late 1960s, methods of birational geometry have been used successfully in the theory of linear algebraic groups, especially in arithmetic problems. This book--which can be viewed as a significant revision of the author's book, Algebraic Tori (Nauka, Moscow, 1977)--studies birational properties of linear algebraic groups focusing on arithmetic applications. The main topics are forms and Galois cohomology, the Picard group and the Brauer group, birational geometry of algebraic tori, arithmetic of algebraic groups, Tamagawa numbers, R-equivalence, projective toric varieties, invariants of finite transformation groups, and index-formulas. Results and applications are recent. There is an extensive bibliography with additional comments that can serve as a guide for further reading.

Diffraction is a phenomenon related to the wave nature of light and arises when a propagating wave comes across an obstacle. Consequently, the wave can be transformed in amplitude or phase and diffraction occurs. Those parts of the wavefront avoiding an obstacle form a diffraction pattern after interfering with each other. In this review paper, we have discussed the topic of non-diffractive beams, explicitly Bessel beams. Such beams provide some resistance to diffraction and hence are hypothetically a phenomenal alternate to Gaussian beams in several circumstances. Several outstanding applications are coined to Bessel beams and have been employed in commercial applications. We have discussed several hot applications based on these magnificent beams such as optical trapping, material processing, free-space long-distance self-healing beams, optical coherence tomography, superresolution, sharp focusing, polarization transformation, increased depth of focus, birefringence detection based on astigmatic transformed BB and encryption in optical communication. According to our knowledge, each topic presented in this review is justifiably explained.

In a recent publication [Opt. Lett.37, 2970 (2012)10.1364/OL.37.002970], a novel class of planar stochastic sources, generating far fields with flat intensity profiles, was introduced. In this paper we examine the behavior of the spectral density and the state of coherence of beamlike fields generated by such sources on propagation in free space and linear isotropic random media. In particular, we find that at sufficiently large distances from the source, the medium destroys the flat intensity profile, even if it remains such for intermediate distances from the source.

Rules for determining a unique natural tiling that carries a given three-periodic net as its 1-skeleton are presented and justified. A computer implementation of the rules and their application to tilings for zeolite nets and for the nets of the RCSR database are described.

{[Cd3(btec)(btx)0.5(μ3-OH)(H2O)]·H2O}n (1) and [Cu2(btec)(btx)1.5]n (2), two novel cadmium(II) and copper(II)-based high-connected metal–organic frameworks, with both 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylate (btec) and 1,4-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene (btx) as mixed ligands were hydrothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. Both MOFs have three-dimensional (3D) structures, but different framework topologies and ligand linkage modes. 1 possesses an unprecedented binodal (4,12)-connected topology structure, in which the ligand btec serves as a rare dodecadentate and ordinary octadentate in two types of coordination modes. Meanwhile, 2 exhibits a binodal (4,7)-connected topological network with an enneadentate coordination geometry of the btec ligand. Both MOFs provide novel examples of designing and synthesizing novel binodal MOFs, and demonstrate that the 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid ligand with rich coordination chemistry information is useful in the construction of binodal highly-connected nets. In addition, the catalytic performance of 2 has also been checked. 2 is active as a catalyst for the degradation of methyl orange.

The mechanism of carbon particulate (soot) inception has been a subject of numerous studies and debates. The article begins with a critical review of prior proposals, proceeds to the analysis of factors enabling the development of a meaningful nucleation flux, and then introduces new ideas that lead to the fulfillment of these requirements. In the new proposal, a rotationally-activated dimer is formed in the collision of an aromatic molecule and an aromatic radical; the two react during the lifetime of the dimer to form a stable, doubly-bonded bridge between them, with the reaction rooted in a five-member ring present on the molecule edge. Several such reactions were examined theoretically and the most promising one generated a measurable nucleation flux. The consistency of the proposed model with known aspects of soot particle nanostructure is discussed. The foundation of the new model is fundamentally the H-Abstraction-Carbon-Addition (HACA) mechanism with the reaction affinity enhanced by rotational excitation.

The article provides a comprehensive review of the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture, along with its advantages and disadvantages. However, it's important to recognize that IoT holds immense potential for generating new ideas that could drive innovations in modern agriculture and address several challenges faced by farmers today. Applications such as smart irrigation, precision farming, crop and soil tracking, smart greenhouses, supply chain management, livestock monitoring, agricultural drones, pest and disease prevention, and farm machinery are among the areas considered for IoT implementation in agriculture by this paper. These innovative solutions have the potential to revolutionize farming practices, improve efficiency, reduce resource wastage, and ultimately enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability. The analysis examines each application in terms of its utility and outlines measures necessary to enhance its effectiveness. Key considerations include addressing connectivity issues, managing costs, ensuring data security and privacy, scaling solutions appropriately, effectively managing data, and promoting awareness and adoption of IoT tools. Despite these challenges, IoT offers numerous benefits to the agricultural sector. The paper underscores the importance of collaboration among farmers, IoT technology companies, academia, and policymakers to address these issues and fully harness the potential of IoT. To achieve this goal, ongoing research, development, and acceptance of IoT-driven solutions are essential to sustain agriculture as a viable option amidst emerging challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity.