Vine Research Articles

Behavioral and economic traits reflect distinct resource acquisition strategies in tendril vines and stem twining vines.

Climbing plants are important components of tropical and many temperate forest ecosystems. Current studies regard climbing plants as a single ecological plant type and ignore the ecological differences resulting from their climbing mechanisms, which may lead to a misrepresentation of the role of climbing plants in forest dynamics. Based on behavioral traits and economic traits of climbing plants, we test the hypothesis that tendril climbers and stem twiners are characterized by different resource acquisition strategies. We quantified and compared 4 behavioral traits and 7 economic traits of four stem twining vines and four tendril vines in a temperate oak forest and further tested their differences in resource acquisition strategy. Our study found that tendril vines were scattered in a group distinct from stem twining vines along the first axes of the principal component analysis using four behavioral traits and seven economic traits, being located at the more acquisitive end with more hosts, a larger distance to length ratio of stem, higher leaf and root nitrogen concentrations, and lower leaf carbon content, while stem twining vines showed the opposite trends. These results indicate that tendril vines have a more acquisitive strategy than stem twining vines. The findings suggest a functional variability among the different climbing mechanisms, and which should be accounted for in future studies.

Optimization of a vibro-impact damper design using MATLAB tools

The paper studies the dynamics of a vibro-impact system consisting of a main (primary) structure and a vibro-impact damper coupled to it. A vibro-impact damper is a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink (VI NES). The optimal damper design should provide the best vibration mitigation for the primary structure. The optimization procedures for finding the optimal NES design are carried out using standard MATLAB tools. We used different MATLAB programs, namely surf program, which graphically shows the ranges of parameter pairs to be optimized; fminsearch and fminconprograms, which search for local minima of the objective function. It is shown that the optimization procedure itself is ambiguous and contains a sufficient amount of arbitrariness. Its result is also ambiguous. It is due to the presence of the many possible sets of damper parameters that can provide maximum mitigation of the main structure vibrations. We do not use the genetic algorithm gabecause it selects random intermediate results and yields randomly selected parameter sets from the optimal parameters manifold. Setting the objective function and its parameters plays a crucial role in the optimization process. We have chosen the maximum total energy of the primary structure as the objective function. Each resulting variant of the damper parameter set should be carefully tested and analyzed. We compared the five obtained optimal designs for dampers with two different masses. When analyzing them, we observed different motion modes, namely periodic modes of different periodicity with different number of impacts per cycle, with different ratio of bodies motion periods: 1:1 resonance with resonance capture and 2:1 resonance; amulti-periodic mode with many impacts per cycle, which turned out to be an amplitude-modulated mode – Amplitude Modulated Signal . The final decision on the optimal damper design may be made taking into account various engineering considerations regarding its mass and other parameters. It should be based on the options obtained as a result of the optimization procedure.

The influence of various optimization procedures on the dynamics and efficiency of nonlinear energy sink with synergistic effect consideration

The vibro-impact system under consideration consists of a primary structure, which is a linear oscillator (LO) and a vibro-impact damper coupled with it. The damper is a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink (VI NES). The dynamics of this system and damper efficiency in attenuation vibrations of the primary structure are studied using numerical simulation. The paper examines the problem of choosing optimal damper parameters that provide the best mitigation of the primary structure energy. The optimization procedure was carried out in several stages. The multiple parameters optimization manifested a synergistic effect. This made it possible to select the most effective VI NES design. The chosen damper design provided the best energy reduction. Thanks to it, the irregular regimes of the system movement turned into the periodic ones. The damper hits both the primary structure directly and an obstacle rigidly connected to the primary structure.

The Development of a Stereo Vision System to Study the Nutation Movement of Climbing Plants.

Climbing plants, such as common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), exhibit complex motion patterns that have long captivated researchers. In this study, we introduce a stereo vision machine system for the in-depth analysis of the movement of climbing plants, using image processing and computer vision. Our approach involves two synchronized cameras, one lateral to the plant and the other overhead, enabling the simultaneous 2D position tracking of the plant tip. These data are then leveraged to reconstruct the 3D position of the tip. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of external factors, particularly the presence of support structures, on plant movement dynamics. The proposed method is able to extract the position of the tip in 86-98% of cases, achieving an average reprojection error below 4 px, which means an approximate error in the 3D localization of about 0.5 cm. Our method makes it possible to analyze how the plant nutation responds to its environment, offering insights into the interplay between climbing plants and their surroundings.

Selection of the optimal design for a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink

The efficiency of a vibro-impact nonlinear energy sink (VI NES), that is, a vibro-impact damper, is largely determined by its design. The optimal damper design can be found through optimization procedures. However, the result of their work is ambiguous, their various options show different values of the optimal damper parameters. A thorough analysis of the obtained parameters values allow you to select the best option according to a certain criterion. While carrying out this analysis, we observe many interesting phenomena, namely, the synergistic effect of multiple parameters, rich complex dynamics of the VI NES, the presence of direct impacts between the damper and the main body, the dependence of the total energy on the exciting force parameters.The analysis also allows us to formulate the limitations of the VI NES. All these problems are reflected in this article.

A 2D model to study how secondary growth affects the self-supporting behaviour of climbing plants.

Climbing plants exhibit specialized shoots, called "searchers", to cross spaces and alternate between spatially discontinuous supports in their natural habitats. To achieve this task, searcher shoots combine both primary and secondary growth processes of their stems in order to support, orientate and explore their extensional growth into the environment. Currently, there is an increasing interest in developing models to describe plant growth and posture. However, the interactions between the sensing activity (e.g. photo-, gravi-, proprioceptive sensing) and the elastic responses are not yet fully understood. Here, we aim to model the extension and rigidification of searcher shoots. Our model defines variations in the radius (and consequently in mass distribution) along the shoot based on experimental data collected in natural habitats of two climbing species: Trachelospermum jasminoides (Lindl.) Lem. and Condylocarpon guianense Desf.. Using this framework, we predicted the sensory aspect of a plant, that is, the plant's response to external stimuli, and the plant's proprioception, that is, the plant's "self-awareness". The results suggest that the inclusion of the secondary growth in a model is fundamental to predict the postural development and self-supporting growth phase of shoots in climbing plants.

Passive Solar Technology and its Techniques

Passive solar technique is which converts the natural energy into usable energy resources. The passive solar energy is the sunlight that is been got directly or indirectly are been converted to heating or cooling purpose. This process is been effectively used all over the world for the future development. As the usage such as the solar technologies and other innovative techniques this does not involve in most of the mechanical process. Solar energy is mostly environmentally friendly and eco friendly that are blending with day to day life. The light and heat that are been got naturally are used to provide electricity that can be used in building s interior and exterior purpose. The most possible ways that the passive solar technique is that the maximum use of the windows and doors, shading devices, louvers and angular roofing are the methods that can be used for the passive solar energy techniques. The next method passive solar heating is also an technique that makes or traps the heat and saves the heat in any part of building based on the required material. This allows heat that is needed at required times during different weather conditions the passive solar technique plays an important role during different climatic conditions. During the summer season it prevents the direct heat entering the building and can be reduced based on growth of the plant such as shrubs and creeper plants. During the winter season it emits the heat to the entire building such as the material been used such as concrete, thermal mass material ,stone slabs, these have more emitting power and makes the entire place more warm and heat. Most of the application techniques and methods will be studied later with following research ideas.

Possibilities of valorization of Gnetum spp leaves in modern gastronomy: Production and characterization of new vegetable tarts and salads

Gnetum spp is a green creeper plant abundantly found in the Central African forests. Their leaves are eaten as vegetable by inhabitants. In order to valorize this vegetable in modern gastronomy, a survey was carried out in three towns of Cameroon to evaluate its importance in the feeding habits. The leaves were also sliced in two different forms, precooked, spin-dried and used for Gnetum tarts and salads production. 50, 100 and 150 g of thin sliced precooked leaves were used to prepare three salads and three tarts, keeping the other ingredients constant. Three additional tarts were prepared similarly using thinnest sliced precooked leaves. The final products were analyzed in terms of physiochemical, nutritional and sensorial properties. More than 96.9% of people investigated eat Gnetum leafy vegetables at least once per month. The survey study indicates that the transformation of Gnetum is mostly done by people within the age of 20 to 40 years old. Results of the physicochemical analyses showed that the total protein, lipid and carbohydrate contents increased in general with the increasing of the Gnetum leaf quantities used for preparation. The crude fiber contents of salads and tarts ranged from 52.00 ± 0.68 to 62.66 ± 1.26 and 29.33 ± 0.67 to 33.66 ± 0.47 g/100 g DW respectively. They were positively correlated with the quantity of Gnetum leaves used. The total phenolic contents, also increased significantly (p < 0.05) with the quantity of Gnetum leaves, from 182.45 ± 1.69 to 493.52 ± 2.10 mg/100 g DW for the salad and from 86.69 ± 4.08 to 283.21 ± 6.79 mg/100 g DW for the tart. The calculated energy density of tarts and salads permitted to classify these food products as low and high energy density foods respectively. The nutritional densities of produced tarts oscillated from 0.27 to 0.3 and that of salads from 0.58 to 0.71. With their nutritional values and the significant amount of fibers, Gnetum tarts and salads could be good new recipes to valorize the Gnetum leafy vegetables.

Leaf trait plasticity means green facades are a flexible nature-based solution for vertical greening under full-sun and heavy shade conditions

Climbing plants that cover building walls (indirect green façades) are a nature-based solution for urban greening in dense urban areas. Green facades can provide important ecosystem service benefits such as cooling, biodiversity habitat and visualamenity and screening. However, as new buildings are constructed the urban form changes and this can create heavy shade that impacts the growth, health and function of existing green façade climbing plants. Climbing plants may respond to increased shade through plasticity in some leaf traits (e.g. specific leaf area, photosynthetic rate or leaf chlorophyll content). However, deciduous climbing plant species are likely to be more plastic than evergreen species as they have less conservative resource strategies.In this study we measured morphological, physiological and biochemical leaf traits of seven mature climbing plant species growing in full-sun and in response to the addition of heavy shade (via shade cloth). All seven climbing plant species significantly increased specific leaf area; whilst physiological traits relating to light compensation and thermal tolerance remained unchanged in response to heavy shade. Other physiological, biochemical or morphological traits only changed in response to heavy shade for certain species. There was a very similar level of phenotypic plastic response to shade by both deciduous and evergreen climbing plant species, except for photosynthetic capacity which was significantly more plastic (greater reduction) in deciduous species.Our results suggest most climbing plant species can maintain growth and physiological function when light conditions change from full-sun to heavy shade. These green façade plants are likely to maintain building wall coverage, healthy function and delivery of ecosystem service benefits in cities. In areas experiencing densification and new building shadows, deciduous climbing plant species appear to respond slightly better to heavy shade and may be more suitable for green façades that may become shaded by future building.

Failure without Tears: Two-Step Attachment in a Climbing Cactus.

Climbing plants can be extremely adaptable to diverse habitats and capable of colonising perturbed, unstructured, and even moving environments. The timing of the attachment process, whether instantaneous (e.g., a pre-formed hook) or slow (growth process), crucially depends on the environmental context and the evolutionary history of the group concerned. We observed how spines and adhesive roots develop and tested their mechanical strength in the climbing cactus Selenicereus setaceus (Cactaceae) in its natural habitat. Spines are formed on the edges of the triangular cross-section of the climbing stem and originate in soft axillary buds (areoles). Roots are formed in the inner hard core of the stem (wood cylinder) and grow via tunnelling through soft tissue, emerging from the outer skin. We measured maximal spine strength and root strength via simple tensile tests using a field measuring Instron device. Spine and root strengths differ, and this has a biological significance for the support of the stem. Our measurements indicate that the measured mean strength of a single spine could theoretically support an average force of 2.8 N. This corresponds to an equivalent stem length of 2.62 m (mass of 285 g). The measured mean strength of root could theoretically support an average of 13.71 N. This corresponds to a stem length of 12.91 m (mass of 1398 g). We introduce the notion of two-step attachment in climbing plants. In this cactus, the first step deploys hooks that attach to a substrate; this process is instantaneous and is highly adapted for moving environments. The second step involves more solid root attachment to the substrate involving slower growth processes. We discuss how initial fast hook attachment can steady the plant on supports allowing for the slower root attachment. This is likely to be important in wind-prone and moving environmental conditions. We also explore how two-step anchoring mechanisms are of interest for technical applications, particularly for soft-bodied artefacts, which must safely deploy hard and stiff materials originating from a soft compliant body.

First report of Coniella vitis causing white rot on Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia [L.] Planch.) in China.

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia [L.] Planch.) belongs to the genus of Parthenocissus and Vitaceae family, which is very common in vineyards and where wild grape occurs (Bergh et al., 2011). In September of 2021, a severe white rot disease was observed on Virginia creeper around the vineyard of wine grapevine (Cabernet Sauvignon) located in Penglai city (37º 75'38" N, 120º 84'28" E), Shandong province of China. The disease incidence was about 75%, and infected leaf of Virginia creeper exhibited irregular necrotic lesion with brown center, and most lesion occurred on leaf margin, black pycnidia were also observed on the infected leaf at the late stage of infection. To determine the causal agent, symptomatic leaves with typical lesions were cut into small pieces (5 mm × 3 mm), surface sterilized with 75% ethanol for 1 min, followed by three times rinsed in sterile water. Leaf sections were plated onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 28°C for 3 days. Totally, five isolates (referred to as JD01, JD07, JD09, JD12 and JD16) were collected and transferred on to fresh PDA medium for incubation at 28°C. Seven days later, colonies on PDA plates had crenulated edges with concentric rings, the upper surface of colonies was mostly flat and white with many pycnidia. The conidia were hyaline at immature and became brown later, spherical or ellipsoid, aseptate, and 7.92 ± 1.20 μm × 5.18 ± 0.61 μm (n=50), length : width ratio is nearly 2. Morphologically, the isolates were identified as Coniella vitis (Chethana et al., 2017). Further to confirm the fungal species, the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of the ribosomal RNA gene, large subunit rRNA gene (LSU) and the translation elongation factor 1-alpaha gene (TEF1-α) were amplified using primers ITS1/ ITS4, LR7/ LROR, and TEF1- 728F/ TEF1- 986R (Chethana et al., 2017; Raudabaugh et al., 2018). The amplification products were sequenced and deposited in GenBank database. The sequences were compared to type sequences in GenBank. The results showed that ITS (GenBank accession numbers ON329769, ON329770, ON329771, ON329772 and ON329773), LSU (ON358423，ON358424, ON358425, ON358426 and ON358427) and TEF (ON297671, ON229071, ON229072, ON229073 and ON297672) sequences of the five isolates were 99.66%, 96.90% and 98.79% identical with the sequences data from C. vitis isolates in GeneBank (MFLUCC 18-0093, JZB3700020 and MFLUCC 18-0093, respectively). Furthermore, concatenated sequences of the three genes (ITS, LSU and TEF) were used to conduct a phylogenetic tree using maximum likehood MEGA-X (Raudabaugh et al., 2018). The phylogenetic analysis showed that the five isolates (JD01, JD07, JD09, JD12 and JD16) belong to C. vitis clade among the 41strains of Coniella spp. In the pathogenicity tests, detached leaves of Virginia creeper (1-year-old) were inoculated with mycelia plugs (5 mm diameter) (form 3-day-old of isolate JD07 culture), and control were inoculated with PDA plugs (5 mm diameter). Virginia creeper live plants (1-year-old) were inoculated with conidial suspension (2.5×106 spores/ml) of the isolate JD07 of one week old, and control plants were inoculated with sterile water. All treated Virginia creeper plants (detached leaves) were placed in a greenhouse maintained at 28°C and 95% relative humidity. Virginia creeper plants (detached leaves) inoculated with the conidial suspension (fungal mycelia) had brown lesion on leaves, the disease symptoms were similar to those observed in field. No such symptoms were observed on control plants (detached leaves). The pathogen was reisolated from inoculated Virginia creeper plants and re-identified, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. C. vitis had been reported to cause grape white rot in China (Chethana et al., 2017). Virginia creeper, as an excellent host of C. vitis, will increase the transmission risk of the pathogens. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. vitis causing white rot on Virginia creeper, and this finding will provide useful information for developing effective control strategies for white rot disease.

Classifying Circumnutation in Pea Plants via Supervised Machine Learning

Climbing plants require an external support to grow vertically and enhance light acquisition. Climbers that find a suitable support demonstrate greater performance and fitness than those that remain prostrate. Support search is characterized by oscillatory movements (i.e., circumnutation), in which plants rotate around a central axis during their growth. Numerous studies have elucidated the mechanistic details of circumnutation, but how this phenomenon is controlled during support searching remains unclear. To fill this gap, here we tested whether simulation-based machine learning methods can capture differences in movement patterns nested in actual kinematical data. We compared machine learning classifiers with the aim of generating models that learn to discriminate between circumnutation patterns related to the presence/absence of a support in the environment. Results indicate that there is a difference in the pattern of circumnutation, depending on the presence of a support, that can be learned and classified rather accurately. We also identify distinctive kinematic features at the level of the junction underneath the tendrils that seems to be a superior indicator for discerning the presence/absence of the support by the plant. Overall, machine learning approaches appear to be powerful tools for understanding the movement of plants.

From dark to darkness, negative phototropism influences the support-tree location of the massive woody climber Hydrangea serratifolia (Hydrangeaceae) in a Chilean temperate rainforest

ABSTRACT Climbing plants rely on suitable support to provide the light conditions they require in the canopy. Negative phototropism is a directional search behavior proposed to detect a support-tree, which indicates growth or movement away from light, based on light attenuation. In a Chilean temperate rainforest, we addressed whether the massive woody climber Hydrangea serratifolia (H. et A.) F. Phil (Hydrangeaceae) presents a support-tree location pattern influenced by light availability. We analyzed direction and light received in two groups of juvenile shoots: searching shoots (SS), with plagiotropic (creeping) growth vs. ascending shoots (AS), with orthotropic growth. We found that, in accordance with light attenuation, SS and AS used directional orientation to search and then ascend host trees. The light available to H. serratifolia searching shoots was less than that of the general forest understory; the directional orientation in both groups showed a significant deviation from a random distribution, with no circular statistical difference between them. Circular-linear regression indicated a relationship between directional orientations and light availability. Negative phototropism encodes the light environment’s heterogeneous spatial and temporal information, guiding the shoot apex to the most shaded part of the support-tree base, the climbing start point.

Ecological Distribution Patterns and Indicator Species Analysis of Climber Plants in Changa Manga Forest Plantation

Climbing plants have an important role in forest communities and ecosystems. Despite the significance of the climbers in ecosystems, most of the previous research work in Pakistan has been concentrated on trees, shrubs, and herbs, with little attention paid to climbing plants. The current study investigated the ecology of climbers and the influence of soil characteristics on diversity, richness, and indicator species distribution in the Changa Manga Forest Plantation, Punjab, Pakistan. Field surveys were carried out between 2020 and 2021, with the data gathered using a random sample approach for ordination and cluster analysis of each plant species and edaphic data from sample plots. We reported a total of 29 climber species belonging to 23 genera and 9 families from the area. The Convolvulaceae family was the most prevalent, followed by Apocynaceae and Cucurbitaceae. Herbaceous climbers were the typical life form (70% species) and species showed peak flowering during the months of August and September. The multivariate analysis and cluster analysis grouped the climbers into four distinct communities based on the indicator species, representing filtering of the species pool in the studied area. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) results showed that soil factors had a significant influence (p ≤ 0.002) on the climbers’ diversity and distribution pattern. Our research contributes to a deeper understanding of climbing plant ecology in response to soil variables, with immediate consequences for policy and practice in this Himalayan region, as well as research insights for neighboring Himalayan regions and elsewhere in the world.

Liana and vine germination requirements in a subtropical forest zone

Climbing plants may be classified as lianas (woody) or vines (herbaceous). This grouping is not taxonomic but is useful for functional ecology. We evaluated seed germination of three liana and four vine species from the Chinese subtropical forest zone. Seeds were collected from different environments (abandoned agricultural land, broadleaf forest, coniferous mixed forest) and seed traits characterized (seed fresh mass, seed shape index, water gain). Germination tests were conducted under different temperature regimes: 5/10, 10/20, 20/30, 25/35, 35/40 °C under light and dark conditions. Additionally, we tested the relationships of germination responses (germination percentage, mean germination times, and relative light-germination index) with seed traits. The two species from abandoned agricultural land (Glycine max subsp. soja and Ipomoea triloba) had impermeable seed coats and reached only intermediate values of germination percentage, from 20 to 40% in the tested temperatures, with little effect from light regimes. In the broadleaf forest, Ipomoea nil also had impermeable seeds, but reached 91% of germination under 25/35 °C. Seeds of I. nil were the largest ones (4.8 g per 100 seeds), and there was a positive relationship of seed mass with G%. Seeds of Kadsura longipedunculata (liana) had low G% under all tested temperatures, probably related to some dormancy type, which requires further investigation. Species from coniferous mixed forest were greatly affected by temperature regimes, and Coptosapelta diffusa (the smallest seeds) had also the most light-dependent germination. Light-germination index had thus a significant/negative relationship with seeds mass. Environmental factors may help to explain the distribution of seed traits in our study, but further research should examine a larger set of species to better understand regeneration ecology of climbing plants in contrasting ecosystems.

Differential influence of cortex and stele components on root tip diameter in different types of tropical climbing plants.

Climbing plants are an abundant and taxonomically diverse plant group that competes intensely with trees and thus substantially affects forest diversity and structure. The growth and physiology of climbing plants largely depend on their root tip structure and function. However, little is known regarding the mechanisms through which anatomical traits regulate root tip diameter in climbing plants. Therefore, our study sought to explore the relationships between root tip diameter and seven anatomical traits (e.g., cortex thickness and stele diameter) in three lianas and three vine species sampled from a tropical forest in Hainan. Root tip diameter was significantly positively correlated with cortex thickness (r = 0.94–0.99) and stele diameter (r = 0.72–0.94) within species, especially with cortex thickness. Cortex thickness was significantly positively correlated with mean cortical cell diameter in six species (r = 0.72–0.93), but was only correlated with the number of cortical cell layers in three species (r = 0.42–0.66). Stele diameter displayed significant positive correlations with mean conduit diameter (r = 0.58–0.88) and the number of conduits per stele (r = 0.50–0.66, except for Cyclea hypoglauca), and was negatively correlated with conduit density in all species (r = −0.65 to –0.77). The correlations between cortical cells and conduit traits and root tip diameter were similar to that with cortex thickness and stele diameter, respectively. Compared with vines, liana root tips showed closer relationships between root diameter and cortex thickness and stele diameter, and between cortex thickness and mean diameter of cortical cells. Moreover, the root tip of lianas possesses significantly higher stele proportion and denser conduits, significantly lower cortex proportion, and smaller conduit size than those of vines. However, the specific conductivity was similar. Overall, these results suggest that the cortex is the main driver for the change in root tip diameter rather than the stele. Nevertheless, both factors were responsible for variations in diameter-related traits when compared with number-related traits, with lianas and vines exhibiting distinct regulatory mechanisms.

Biological Activities of Plant Ethanolic Extracts from Asplenium trichomanes (Maidenhair spleenwort) and Lagenaria siceraria (Bottle Gourd)

Plant is commonly known as one of the main dietary sources of the human being. Many plant-derived compounds have been used as drugs, either in their original or semi-synthetic form. There are also several plant extracts or “phytomedicine” in clinical trials for the treatment of various diseases. Plant-derived compounds will still be an essential aspect of the therapeutic array of medicines available to the physician, particularly with the availability of new hyphenated primary analytical methods by determining biological activities of medicinal plants. The ethanolic extracts of two creeper plants namely Asplenium trichomanes (Maidenhair spleenwort), Lagenaria siceraria (Bottle gourd), originated from different geographical part of the world were chosen to be determine its antimicrobial, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and UV radiation absorbance activity which is mainly characterize the anticancer activity which is nowadays become the most fatal disease. Such kind of biomedical and biotechnology approaches have been aimed to eradicate naturally such illness which is the main objective of this work. The present study shows that different ethanolic leaf extracts have an important and necessary antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties with UV absorbing activity at UV–A region. These results show that Asplenium trichomanes and Lagenaria siceraria will be potential natural sources of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. They could have greater importance as therapeutic agents in preventing or treating oxidative stress and inflammation related disorders, such as cancer and other health disorders. While the negative result of the antimicrobial activity of most of both ethanolic extract is considered as a positive result depending to main purpose of future work. Because it shows that extracts will never upset the gastric flora, in which they must be applied safely away from any harmful reaction and allergic or side effects for the living organism.

Kadaiezhu Vallalkal as shown in Puranaanuru

The Sangam period is from BC 48 to 300 AD. Through ancient Tamil literary works, one can learn about the lifestyle of the kings and poets of that time. Sangam literature helps to know the cultural messages of the people: types of food, types of dress, houses they lived in, occupations they did, social messages, customs, etc. Purananuru, an ancient Tamil literary work, reflects the lifestyle of the individuals of that time. The kings of those times were talented. They enjoyed giving gold and material to the poets who sang for them. Sangam literature tells us that the kings took pride in being sung by poets. References to many benevolent kings are widely available in the classical literature. In ancient times, charity and gifts were seen together. In ancient times, kings were tributaries. Through classical literature, the joy of giving abundant gold and material to poets and others who are singing to him can be felt. Paari, Kaari, Ori, Athiyan, Began, Nalli, Ai, Andiran, etc. were hailed as the Kadaiezhu Vallalkals (seven benevolent kings). Paari and Began became indestructibly famous by giving a chariot to a jasmine creeper plant and a blanket to a peacock. It is found that the Aatruppadai literature speaks of the generosity of the kings. The generosity of the kings can also be seen through inscriptions and coins. This article examines the charity of Kadaiezhu Vallallkal of ancient Tamil land through Puranaanuru.

Mind the Gap: Reach and Mechanical Diversity of Searcher Shoots in Climbing Plants

Climbing plants need to reach supports and position their leaves for light capture. Vines and lianas develop a large diversity of self-supporting shoots among diverse species and different kinds of attachment. A searcher’s reach is a crucial trait for colonising supports in complex three-dimensional spaces. We explore the reach capacity and diversity of searcher shoots among representative temperate and tropical climbing plants. We investigate the overall range of variation between short- and long-reach searchers; the mechanical and anatomical organisations underlying reach capacities; how searcher architectures are linked to different climbing strategies such as stem twining, tendril climbing, root climbing, and branch-angle-hook climbing. We investigated reach and mechanical and anatomical organisations (stem rigidity and stiffness, stem and tissue geometry) in 29 climbing plant species from temperate and tropical habitats. Searchers show a wide range of maximal reach per species from 0.1 to 2.5 m. Flexural rigidity (EI) at the base of searchers increased with reach length; overall this increase was proportional although some longest-reaching shoots develop proportionally thinner searcher bases with higher stiffness [structural Young’s modulus (Estr)] than shorter-reach shoots. Bases of short-reach searchers rely more on primary tissues compared to long-reach shoots, which rely more on wood production. We identified different mechanical architectures for a given reach capacity across all species. These are linked to different kinds of attachment mechanisms, support foraging, and possibly leaf display. Plants attaching by twining of the main stem showed a wide range of reach capacity. They also developed lighter, more slender, less rigid, but generally relatively stiff (higher Estr) shoots compared with tendril climbers and branch-angle-hook climbers. Differences in the mechanical architecture of searcher shoots in climbing plants are informative for understanding how diverse climbing plant species explore and colonise different kinds of three-dimensional spaces. This is a key feature that distinguishes different habitat preferences. We discuss how such knowledge is not only important for understanding functional biology and ecology of climbing plants but is also of interest for developing new technologies in soft robotics that mimic climbing plants that can navigate through unstructured environments.

Finite contact duration modeling of a Vibro-Impact Nonlinear Energy Sink to protect a civil engineering frame structure against seismic events

This paper reassesses carefully the effects and consequences of instantaneous contact mechanics versus finite contact duration modeling of Vibro-Impact Nonlinear Energy Sinks (VI NES). The device is composed of a container enclosing an inelastic sphere, interacting via a nonlinear viscoelastic dissipative force with the inner walls of the container. The VI NES is considered in a practical context, the control of the vibrations of a civil engineering frame structure under seismic input. It is connected by a rigid link to the structure: the particle bounces within the container when it vibrates, exploring dynamical regimes ranging from periodic collisions to chaos while dissipating energy. Our VI NES is designed in order to mitigate vibrations of a ten-story frame structure under two historic earthquake signals, in order to rule out specific effects. The dynamics of the system, obtained from both finite and instantaneous contact models, are compared and discussed. The main result reveals a significant effect of the contact duration on the estimation of the dissipated energy, even for very brief collisions. Instantaneous contact model indeed provides incommensurate values in terms of acceleration during the impacts, leading to a higher sensitivity to Initial Conditions (IC) revealed by large fluctuations of the mechanical response. In turn, any finite duration contact models is proved to be less sensitive to IC, and thus more precise. Our findings demonstrate that both finite and instantaneous models converge in fact to the same value, in average, but the finite duration models require much less realizations to converge to the mean value. In practice, the finite contact duration low pass filters the mechanical responses of the VI NES, avoiding the system to fall into nonphysical chaotic states experienced by the instantaneous model.