Response of beam-to-column web cleated joints for FRP pultruded members

Physical testing is used to characterize the structural properties of beam-to-column joints, comprising pultruded fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) H-shapes of depth 203 mm, connected by 128 mm-long web cleats and two M16 bolts per leg. Testing is performed on two batches of nominally identical specimens. One batch had web cleats of pultruded FRP and the other had structural steel. The structural behavior of the joints is based on their moment-rotation responses, failure modes, and serviceability vertical deflection limits. Joints with FRP cleats failed by delamination cracking at the top of the cleats, and when the cleats were of steel, the FRP failure occurred inside the column members. Neither failure mode is reported in the design manuals from pultruders. At the onset of the FRP damage, it was found that the steel joints were twice as stiff as the FRP joints. On the basis of a characteristic (damage) rotation, calculated in accordance with Eurocode 0, the serviceability deflection limits are established to be span/300 and span/650 for the joints with FRP and steel cleats, respectively. This finding suggests that appropriate deflection limits, in relation to cleated connections, should be proposed in manufactures’ design manuals and relative design standards and design codes. Failure to address the serviceability, by the engineer of record, could lead to unreliable designs

From Monodisciplinary via Multidisciplinary to an Interdisciplinary Approach Investigating Air-Sea Interactions – a SOLAS Initiative

Understanding the physical and biogeochemical interactions and feedbacks between the ocean and atmosphere is a vital component of environmental and Earth system research. The ability to predict and respond to future environmental change relies on a detailed understanding of these processes. The Surface Ocean-Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) is an international research platform that focuses on the study of ocean-atmosphere interactions, for which Future Earth is a sponsor. SOLAS instigated a collaborative initiative process to connect efforts in the natural and social sciences related to these processes, as a contribution to the emerging Future Earth Ocean Knowledge-Action Network (Ocean KAN). This is imperative because many of the recent changes in the Earth system are anthropogenic. An understanding of adaptation and counteracting measures requires an alliance of scientists from both domains to bridge the gap between science and policy. To this end, three SOLAS research areas were targeted for a case study to determine a more effective method of interdisciplinary research: valuing carbon and the ocean’s role; air-sea interactions, policy and stewardship; and, air-sea interactions and the shipping industry

Using new technologies to promote weight management: a randomised controlled trial study protocol

Background: Over the last three decades, overweight and obesity and the associated health consequences have become global public health priorities. Methods that have been tried to address this problem have not had the desired impact, suggesting that other approaches need to be considered. One of the lessons learned throughout these attempts is that permanent weight loss requires sustained dietary and lifestyle changes, yet adherence to weight management programs has often been noted as one of the biggest challenges. This trial aims to address this issue by examining whether social media, as a potential health promotion tool, will improve adherence to a weight management program. To test the effectiveness of this measure, the designated program will be delivered via the popular social networking site Facebook, and compared to a standard delivery method that provides exactly the same content but which is communicated through a pamphlet. The trial will be conducted over a period of twelve weeks, with a twelve week follow-up. Although weight loss is expected, this study will specifically investigate the effectiveness of social media as a program delivery method. The program utilised will be one that has already been proven to achieve weight loss, namely The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.Methods/design: This project will be conducted as a 3-arm randomised controlled trial. One hundred and twenty participants will be recruited from the Perth community, and will be randomly assigned to one of the following three groups: the Facebook group, the pamphlet group, or a control group. The Facebook Group will receive the weight management program delivered via a closed group in Facebook, the Pamphlet Group will be given the same weight management program presented in a booklet, and the Control Group will follow the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the National Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults as usual care. Change in weight, body composition and waist circumference will be initial indicators of adherence to the program. Secondary outcome measures will be blood glucose, insulin, blood pressure, arterial stiffness, physical activity, eating behaviour, mental well-being (stress, anxiety, and depression), social support, self-control, self-efficacy, Facebook activity, and program evaluation. Discussion: It is expected that this trial will support the use of social media - a source of social support and information sharing - as a delivery method for weight management programs, enhancing the reduction in weight expected from dietary and physical activity changes. Facebook is a popular, easy to access and cost-effective online platform that can be used to assist the formation of social groups, and could be translated into health promotion practice relatively easily. It is anticipated in the context of the predicted findings that social media will provide an invaluable resource for health professionals and patients alike

What's law got to do with it Part 2: Legal strategies for healthier nutrition and obesity prevention

This article is the second in a two-part review of law's possible role in a regulatory approach to healthier nutrition and obesity prevention in Australia. As discussed in Part 1, law can intervene in support of obesity prevention at a variety of levels: by engaging with the health care system, by targeting individual behaviours, and by seeking to influence the broader, socio-economic and environmental factors that influence patterns of behaviour across the population. Part 1 argued that the most important opportunities for law lie in seeking to enhance the effectiveness of a population health approach

Schizaea erecta Amoroso & Coritico 2023, sp. nov

<i>Schizaea erecta</i> Amoroso & Coritico, <i>sp. nov</i> (Figs. 2–4) <p> Type:— PHILIPPINES. Dinagat Island: Municipality of Tubajon, Paragua Forest, 10.29355°N, 125.58594°E, 65 m, 30 January 2023, <i>V. B</i> <i>. Amoroso with F. P. Coritico & M. M.</i> <i>Guiang. 3003</i> (holotype PNH!, isotypes CMUH!, BRIT!).</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis:</b> — <i>Schizaea erecta</i> resembles <i>S. dichotoma</i> in having hairy rhizomes, dimorphic fronds, stipes with a t-shaped xylem strand, laminae fan-shaped and branching dichotomously, stomata hypocytic, sorophores pinnately arranged in 2 rows, and sporangia with long non-glandular hairs, but differs by having a rhizome with short-appressed brown hairs (vs. long, coarse brown hairs), the stipe longer and up to 26.6 cm long with a narrow groove (vs. up to 20 cm long and deeply grooved), fronds 3–5 times branching dichotomously (vs. 6–8 times branching), narrower (8–14 cm long by 2.0– 4.5 cm wide), and consistently erect fronds (vs. 15 cm long by 17 cm wide, not erect), sorophores up to 39 per stipe with 12–16 lobes alternately arranged (vs. up to 34 with 5–10 lobes oppositely arranged), and sporangia oblong with long white hairs (vs. reniform with brown hairs).</p> <p> <b>Description</b>:—Terrestrial, 30–50 cm long. <i>Rhizomes</i> short creeping, 1.5–5.0 cm below ground, 0.3 mm thick, covered with persistent shiny brown appressed hairs 1–2 mm long. <i>Fronds</i> dimorphic, crowded, irregularly branched; <i>sterile fronds:</i> erect, stipes distinct, 18.5–26.6 cm long, base partly buried in ground, blackish and becoming light green in upper portion, slightly winged at middle to distinctly winged at apex, with shallow groove and scattered short hairs; laminae fan-shaped, 9–15 cm long and each axis 1 mm wide, whole laminae 2–4 cm wide, costae distinct, branching dichotomously 3–5 times; <i>fertile fronds</i> erect, stipes 11–27 cm long, tetragonal in transection and distinctly winged in upper portion; lamina fan-shaped, 8–14 × 2.0– 4.5 cm, branching dichotomously 3–5 times, basal branch slightly flattened, 1–2 mm wide, distal branch up to 0.5 mm wide with scattered small projections (bases of glandular hairs). <i>Sorophores</i> born distally of each branch of frond, 5–12 mm long, 24–39 per stipe, bearing 12–16 pairs of lobes, pinnately arranged in 2 rows and opposite in arrangement. <i>Sporangia</i> in two rows associated with long white non-glandular hairs, with opposite to alternate arrangement, loosely arranged at base and tightly packed in upper part, oblong with short stout stalk, brown, annulus apical, opening by a vertical slit. <i>Spores</i> monolete and reniform, 37 µm in diameter.</p> <p> <b>Etymology</b>:—The specific epithet refers to the erect fronds of the species.</p> <p> <b>Suggested common name:—</b> Dinagat grass fern.</p> <p> <b>Distribution and habitat:</b> — <i>Schizaea erecta</i> is known only from open habitat at 65 m elevation. It grows as a terrestrial plant in colonies with rhizomes growing below the ground in ultramafic soil associated with plants such as <i>Dicranopteris linearis</i> (Burman 1768: 235) Underwood (1907: 250), <i>Imperata cylindrica</i> (Linnaeus 1759: 878) Palisot de Beauvois (1812: 165), <i>Piper</i> sp., <i>Pteridium aquilinum</i> (Linnaeus 1753: 1075) Kuhn in Decken (1879: 11), <i>Pteris cretica</i> Linnaeus (1767: 130), and <i>Smilax</i> sp. (Figure 5).</p> <p> <b>Conservation Status:—</b> Dinagat Island was identified as a critical terrestrial conservation priority in the Philippines (Ong <i>et al</i>., 2002). Logging, mining, and land conversion threaten the entire island (Haribon, 2004). <i>Schizaea erecta</i> is known only within the Paragua forest, Municipality of Tubajon, with an estimated number of 30 individuals growing in just one open area near agricultural land. The habitat is prone to land conversion because of nearby residential areas. Thus, we recommend listing the species as critically endangered based on its restricted population with ≤ 50 mature individuals and the extent of occurrence estimated to be ≤ 10 km 2 (IUCN Standards and Petition Committee 2019).</p> <p> <b>Discussion</b>: <i>— Schizaea erecta</i> is most similar to <i>S. dichotoma</i>, based upon descriptions of Holttum (1959) and Sofiyanti <i>et al.</i> (2019), and examination of JSTOR type images and Co’s Digital Flora of the Philippines (Table 1). The species share nearly the same height and the presence of hairs on their rhizomes. Their fronds are dimorphic with fan-shaped lamina which branch dichotomously, they both have hypocytic stomata, and they both possess two rows of sorophores. However, the new species differs from <i>S. dichotoma</i> in having rhizome hairs 1.0– 2.3 mm long (vs. 2–3 mm) (Figure 2B); sterile fronds branching dichotomously 4–5 times (vs. 6–8 times) (Figure 2C). Further, the frond is consistently erect whereas that of <i>S. dichotoma</i> is not erect (Figure 2A). The sorophore of <i>S. erecta</i> has 12–16 pairs of lobes whereas <i>S. dichotoma</i> has 5–10 pairs. The sporangia of <i>S. erecta</i> are oblong whereas <i>S. dichotoma</i> has reniform sporangia (Figure 2G, H).</p> <p> Ke <i>et al</i>. (2022) and Brownsey & Perrie (2014) stated that the <i>S. dichotoma</i> complex exhibits wide morphological and cytological variation. However, most members of this complex are poorly characterized and have been collectively lumped into “ <i>S. dichotoma</i> ”, which was found to be polyphyletic in the phylogeny of Ke <i>et al.</i> (2022). Although our new species was not included in this phylogeny, we reckon that it is morphologically so distinct that it merits treatment as a separate species, especially in anticipation of further splitting in this group. With the recognition of this new species, there are now 21 species of <i>Schizaea</i> worldwide (PPG I, 2016) and three in the Philippines.</p> <p> The salient anatomical features of <i>Schizaea erecta</i> include the following: the rhizome is almost circular with appressed hairs as outgrowths of the epidermal cells. The cortex is mainly composed of parenchyma cells. The stele is a haplostele with the phloem surrounding the xylem tissue (Figure 3B). The stipe shape changes from tetragonous at the base with indistinct costa and concave with narrow groove at the middle and somewhat flattened in the upper stipe with two distinct grooves and wings. The cortex becomes complex, being composed of the outer cortical sclerenchyma and the inner cortical parenchyma cells with the stele becoming actinostele and with a T-shaped xylem strand (Figure 3C–E). The lamina is flattened at the lower axis with distinct costa and incurved at the apical axis. The outer wall of the smaller epidermal cells is thickened and inwardly with large hypodermal cells. The vascular bundle is surrounded by a layer of large endodermis and a single layer of pericycle as also reported by Sofiyanti <i>et al.</i> (2019). Moreover, both surfaces of the costa have large sclerenchyma cells to protect the inner undifferentiated mesophyll from drying as the plants are found in open area. The guard cells protrude on the abaxial surface of the epidermis and connect to the large intercellular spaces.</p> <p> The anatomy of <i>Schizaea erecta</i> differs from that of <i>S. dichotoma</i> in the rhizomes for having larger outer cortical cells and smaller inner cortical cells (vs. smaller outer cortical cells and larger inner cortical cells), vascular bundles surrounded by ring-like sclerenchymatous cell layers (vs. star-shaped sclerenchymatous cell layers), numerous metaxylem (vs. 4 metaxylem); stipe tetragonous at the base and flattened in the upper stipe with narrow groove (vs. M-shaped and deeply grooved); lamina narrowly grooved (vs. deeply grooved), and guard cells protruding from the abaxial surface (vs. guard cells sunken).</p>Published as part of <i>Amoroso, Victor B., Acola, Mescel S., Guiang, Maria Melanie M., Acma, Florfe M., Fritsch, Peter W. & Coritico, Fulgent P., 2023, A new species of grass fern, Schizaea erecta (Schizaeaceae), from Dinagat Island, Mindanao, Philippines, pp. 265-273 in Phytotaxa 618 (3)</i> on pages 267-272, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.618.3.4, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8406837">http://zenodo.org/record/8406837</a&gt