An early Little Ice Age brackish water invasion along the south coast of the Caspian Sea (sediment of Langarud wetland) and its wider impacts on environment and people

Caspian Sea level has undergone significant changes through time with major impacts not only on the surrounding coasts, but also offshore. This study reports a brackish water invasion on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea constructed from a multi-proxy analysis of sediment retrieved from the Langarud wetland. The ground surface level of wetland is >6 m higher than the current Caspian Sea level (at -27.41 m in 2014) and located >11 km far from the coast. A sequence covering the last millennium was dated by three radiocarbon dates. The results from this new study suggest that Caspian Sea level rose up to at least -21.44 m (i.e. >6 m above the present water level) during the early Little Ice Age. Although previous studies in the southern coast of the Caspian Sea have detected a high-stand during the Little Ice Age period, this study presents the first evidence that this high-stand reached so far inland and at such a high altitude. Moreover, it confirms one of the very few earlier estimates of a high-stand at -21 m for the second half of the 14th century. The effects of this large-scale brackish water invasion on soil properties would have caused severe disruption to regional agriculture, thereby destabilizing local dynasties and facilitating a rapid Turko-Mongol expansion of Tamerlane’s armies from the east.N Ghasemi (INIOAS), V Jahani (Gilan Province Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organisation) and A Naqinezhad (University of Mazandaran), INQUA QuickLakeH project (no. 1227) and to the European project Marie Curie, CLIMSEAS-PIRSES-GA-2009-24751

Late Little Ice Age palaeoenvironmental records from the Anzali and Amirkola Lagoons (south Caspian Sea): Vegetation and sea level changes

This is a postprint version of the article. The official published article can be found from the link below - Copyright @ 2011 Elsevier Ltd.Two internationally important Ramsar lagoons on the south coast of the Caspian Sea (CS) have been studied by palynology on short sediment cores for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic investigations. The sites lie within a small area of very high precipitation in a region that is otherwise dry. Vegetation surveys and geomorphological investigations have been used to provide a background to a multidisciplinary interpretation of the two sequences covering the last four centuries. In the small lagoon of Amirkola, the dense alder forested wetland has been briefly disturbed by fire, followed by the expansion of rice paddies from AD1720 to 1800. On the contrary, the terrestrial vegetation reflecting the diversity of the Hyrcanian vegetation around the lagoon of Anzali remained fairly complacent over time. The dinocyst and non-pollen palynomorph assemblages, revealing changes that have occurred in water salinity and water levels, indicate a high stand during the late Little Ice Age (LIA), from AD < 1620 to 1800–1830. In Amirkola, the lagoon spit remained intact over time, whereas in Anzali it broke into barrier islands during the late LIA, which merged into a spit during the subsequent sea level drop. A high population density and infrastructure prevented renewed breaking up of the spit when sea level reached its maximum (AD1995). Similar to other sites in the region around the southern CS, these two lagoonal investigations indicate that the LIA had a higher sea level as a result of more rainfall in the drainage basin of the CS.The coring and the sedimentological analyses were funded by the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography in the framework of a research project entitled “Investigation of the Holocene sediment along the Iranian coast of Caspian Sea: central Guilan”. The radiocarbon date of core HCGL02 was funded by V. Andrieu (Europôle Méditerranéen de l'Arbois, France) and that of core HCGA04 by Brunel University

Low-Temperature Polymorphic Phase Transition in a Crystalline Tripeptide L-Ala-L-Pro-Gly·H2O Revealed by Adiabatic Calorimetry

We demonstrate application of precise adiabatic vacuum calorimetry to observation of phase transition in the tripeptide l-alanyl-l-prolyl-glycine monohydrate (APG) from 6 to 320 K and report the standard thermodynamic properties of the tripeptide in the entire range. Thus, the heat capacity of APG was measured by adiabatic vacuum calorimetry in the above temperature range. The tripeptide exhibits a reversible first-order solid-to-solid phase transition characterized by strong thermal hysteresis. We report the standard thermodynamic characteristics of this transition and show that differential scanning calorimetry can reliably characterize the observed phase transition with <5 mg of the sample. Additionally, the standard entropy of formation from the elemental substances and the standard entropy of hypothetical reaction of synthesis from the amino acids at 298.15 K were calculated for the studied tripeptide.National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-003151)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-001960)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-002026

Состояние и перспективы развития инновационной деятельности в Российской Федерации в XXI веке

In recent years, Russia has taken a serious step towards innovative development, to a large extent by providing systematic incentives for innovation and technological development of sectors of the economy. Today, innovation, research, development and their implementation are an important part of the political ambitions of most developed and developing countries. Global spending on innovation continues to grow, and the share of business in it is increasing. The relevance of this topic is also due to the acceleration of the processes of digital transformation of the Russian and international economy, which is why the need to create conditions for innovation, information and communication technologies is increasing. Based on this, it is important for the Government of the Russian Federation to form a national innovation system that promotes the innovative activity of domestic enterprises and increases the scientific orientation of research activities of organizations. Developed countries achieve competitive advantages through the introduction of innovative technologies, a highly qualified workforce with creative thinking, efficient use of financial resources, and strong R&amp;D. Identifying new market opportunities is easy for highly innovative companies. Currently, not only the emergence of new high-tech industries, but also the development of traditional ones is based on information and scientific potential. The development of science is closely related to the growing flow of information, which is both the result and the basis for the development of science, the results of which are subsequently embodied in economic development. The purpose of the article is to identify the main trends in the development of innovative processes in the Russian Federation. The active creation and modernization of technologies, introduction of various technological projects is one of the driving forces of the innovation process. In recent years, there has been a strengthening of innovative development in various sectors of the Russian economy, and a significant role in this development is played by the systemic stimulation of innovation and technological development. Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the study consists of works on regional statistics, mathematical modeling, and econometrics. Graphic and tabular methods of visualization of research results, statistical methods of analysis of economic phenomena were used. To solve the tasks of the study, application packages SPSS, Statistica were used. Results. The creation of new, unique advanced production technologies is an essential element of the innovative development of the country’s economy. The development of industrial design is one of the main stimulating factors for the innovative development of Russia. The increase in the number of issued patents for inventions with a high degree of probability predetermines an increase in the number of manufacturing technologies, which is the basis for progress in the field of manufacturing design. However, the main challenge remains the issue of financing. Conclusion. The article contains an analysis of the dynamics of the main indicators characterizing the innovative activity of organizations and provides forecast estimates of the indicator based on trend models.В последние годы Россия сделала серьезный шаг на пути к инновационному развитию, в большей степени, за счет обеспечения системного стимулирования инноваций и технологического развития секторов экономики. Сегодня инновации, научные исследования, разработки и их реализация – это важная часть политических амбиций большинства развитых и развивающихся стран мира. Глобальные расходы на инновационную деятельность продолжают расти, а доля бизнеса в них увеличивается. Кроме того, актуальность данной темы также обусловлена ускорением процессов цифровой трансформации российской и международной экономики, из-за чего необходимость в создании условий для инноваций, информационных и коммуникационных технологий увеличивается. Исходя из этого, важной задачей государства является формирование национальной инновационной системы, способствующей инновационной активности отечественных предприятий и повышению научной ориентации исследовательской деятельности организаций. Развитые страны достигают конкурентных преимуществ, в большей мере, за счет внедрения инновационных технологий, высококвалифицированной рабочей силы с творческим мышлением, эффективного использования финансовых средств, сильных НИР. Выявление новых рыночных возможностей легко дается высоко инновационным компаниям. В настоящее время не только появление новых высокотехнологичных отраслей, но и развитие традиционных базируется на информации и научном потенциале. Развитие науки тесно связано с нарастающим потоком информации, который является как результатом, так и базой для развития науки, результаты которой в дальнейшем находят свое воплощение в экономическом развитии. Цель исследования заключается в определении основных тенденций развития инновационных процессов в Российской Федерации. Активное создание и модернизация технологий, внедрение различных технологических проектов является одной из движущих сил инновационного процесса. В последние годы наблюдается укрепление инновационного развития в различных отраслях экономики России, и значительную роль в этом развитии играет системное стимулирование инноваций и технологического прогресса. Материалы и методы. Методологическую основу исследования составляют работы по региональной статистике, математическому моделированию, эконометрике. Применялись графические и табличные методы визуализации результатов исследования, статистические методы анализа экономических явлений. Для решения поставленных задач исследования использовались пакеты прикладных программ SPSS, Statistica. Результаты. Создание новых, уникальных передовых производственных технологий выступает важнейшим элементом инновационного развития экономики страны. Развитие производственного проектирования является одним их основных стимулирующих факторов инновационного развития России. Увеличение числа выданных патентов на изобретения с большой долей вероятности предопределяет увеличение числа производственных технологий, что является заделом для прогресса в области производственного проектирования. Однако основной сложностью по-прежнему остается вопрос финансирования. Заключение. В статье осуществлен анализ динамики основных показателей, характеризующих инновационную деятельность организаций, и приводятся прогнозные значения инновационной активности организаций на основе трендовых моделей

A group contribution model for determining the vaporization enthalpy of organic compounds at the standard reference temperature of 298K

Article on a group contribution model for determining the vaporization enthalpy of organic compounds at the standard reference temperature of 298 K

The State and the Prospects of the Development of Innovative Activity in the Russian Federation in the XXI Century

In recent years, Russia has taken a serious step towards innovative development, to a large extent by providing systematic incentives for innovation and technological development of sectors of the economy. Today, innovation, research, development and their implementation are an important part of the political ambitions of most developed and developing countries. Global spending on innovation continues to grow, and the share of business in it is increasing. The relevance of this topic is also due to the acceleration of the processes of digital transformation of the Russian and international economy, which is why the need to create conditions for innovation, information and communication technologies is increasing. Based on this, it is important for the Government of the Russian Federation to form a national innovation system that promotes the innovative activity of domestic enterprises and increases the scientific orientation of research activities of organizations. Developed countries achieve competitive advantages through the introduction of innovative technologies, a highly qualified workforce with creative thinking, efficient use of financial resources, and strong R&amp;D. Identifying new market opportunities is easy for highly innovative companies. Currently, not only the emergence of new high-tech industries, but also the development of traditional ones is based on information and scientific potential. The development of science is closely related to the growing flow of information, which is both the result and the basis for the development of science, the results of which are subsequently embodied in economic development.The purposeof the article is to identify the main trends in the development of innovative processes in the Russian Federation. The active creation and modernization of technologies, introduction of various technological projects is one of the driving forces of the innovation process. In recent years, there has been a strengthening of innovative development in various sectors of the Russian economy, and a significant role in this development is played by the systemic stimulation of innovation and technological development.Materials and methods.The methodological basis of the study consists of works on regional statistics, mathematical modeling, and econometrics. Graphic and tabular methods of visualization of research results, statistical methods of analysis of economic phenomena were used. To solve the tasks of the study, application packages SPSS, Statistica were used.Results.The creation of new, unique advanced production technologies is an essential element of the innovative development of the country’s economy. The development of industrial design is one of the main stimulating factors for the innovative development of Russia. The increase in the number of issued patents for inventions with a high degree of probability predetermines an increase in the number of manufacturing technologies, which is the basis for progress in the field of manufacturing design. However, the main challenge remains the issue of financing.Conclusion.The article contains an analysis of the dynamics of the main indicators characterizing the innovative activity of organizations and provides forecast estimates of the indicator based on trend models.</jats:p