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From the stems of agricultural crops to the structural trunks of trees, studying the mechanical behaviour of plant stems is critical for both commerce and science. Plant scientists are also increasingly relying on mechanical test data for plant phenotyping. Yet there are neither standardized methods nor systematic reviews of current methods for the testing of herbaceous stems. We discuss the architecture of plant stems and highlight important micro- and macrostructural parameters that need to be controlled and accounted for when designing test methodologies, or that need to be understood in order to explain observed mechanical behaviour. Then, we critically evaluate various methods to test structural properties of stems, including flexural bending (two-, three-, and four-point bending) and axial loading (tensile, compressive, and buckling) tests. Recommendations are made on best practices. This review is relevant to fundamental studies exploring plant biomechanics, mechanical phenotyping of plants, and the determinants of mechanical properties in cell walls, as well as to application-focused studies, such as in agro-breeding and forest management projects, aiming to understand deformation processes of stem structures. The methods explored here can also be extended to other elongated, rod-shaped organs (e.g. petioles, midribs, and even roots).

Polymer foams are an important class of engineering material that are finding diverse applications, including as structural parts in automotive industry, insulation in construction, core materials for sandwich composites, and cushioning in mattresses. The vast majority of these manufactured foams are homogeneous with respect to porosity and structural properties. In contrast, while cellular materials are also ubiquitous in nature, nature mostly fabricates heterogeneous foams, e.g., cellulosic plant stems like bamboo, or a human femur bone. Foams with such engineered porosity distribution (graded density structure) have useful property gradients and are referred to as functionally graded foams. Functionally graded polymer foams are one of the key emerging innovations in polymer foam technology. They allow enhancement in properties such as energy absorption, more efficient use of material, and better design for specific applications, such as helmets and tissue restorative scaffolds. Here, following an overview of key processing parameters for polymer foams, we explore recent developments in processing functionally graded polymer foams and their emerging structures and properties. Processes can be as simple as utilizing different surface materials from which the foam forms, to as complex as using microfluidics. We also highlight principal challenges that need addressing in future research, the key one being development of viable generic processes that allow (complete) control and tailoring of porosity distribution on an application-by-application basis.

Inspired by biological systems, we report a supramolecular polymer–colloidal hydrogel (SPCH) composed of 98 wt % water that can be readily drawn into uniform (∼6-μm thick) “supramolecular fibers” at room temperature. Functionalized polymer-grafted silica nanoparticles, a semicrystalline hydroxyethyl cellulose derivative, and cucurbit[8]uril undergo aqueous self-assembly at multiple length scales to form the SPCH facilitated by host–guest interactions at the molecular level and nanofibril formation at colloidal-length scale. The fibers exhibit a unique combination of stiffness and high damping capacity (60–70%), the latter exceeding that of even biological silks and cellulose-based viscose rayon. The remarkable damping performance of the hierarchically structured fibers is proposed to arise from the complex combination and interactions of “hard” and “soft” phases within the SPCH and its constituents. SPCH represents a class of hybrid supramolecular composites, opening a window into fiber technology through low-energy manufacturing.

Globally, the plastic manufacture developed plastic from many years due to the extensive utilization of the plastics in various sectors. The constant interest of the use of plastic creates huge plastic wastes which need a proper solution to dispose the plastic wastes which indirectly or directly participate to the environment problems. Taking into the account sustainability and eco-friendly aspects, there has been an increase in the importance in the utilization of the plastic wastes in the construction industries. Many researchers are focused on the use of polymer-modified bitumen since from decades. Earlier, mixing of virgin polymer was added in bitumen to enhance its properties for road construction in addition to a high temperature was considered but adding recycled polymer in bitumen almost possesses similar improved results for the performance of the pavement with respect to pure polymers. This paper is state of art about the application of polymers in bitumen pavement. In this review paper, a significant study on the benefits and history of utilizing pure and waste polymer in bitumen is conferred by survey of application of polymer in bitumen to enhance the characteristics of bitumen pavement.

Plant fibres, perceived as environmentally sustainable substitutes to E-glass, are increasingly being employed as reinforcements in polymer matrix composites. However, despite the promising technical properties of cellulose-based fibres and the historic use of plant fibre reinforced plastics (PFRPs) in load-bearing components, the industrial uptake of PFRPs in structural applications has been limited. Through an up-to-date critical review of the literature, this manuscript presents an overview on key aspects that need consideration when developing PFRPs for structural applications, including the selection of (I) the fibre type, fibre extraction process and fibre surface modification technique, (II) fibre volume fraction, (III) reinforcement geometry and interfacial properties, (IV) reinforcement packing arrangement and orientation and (V) matrix type and composite manufacturing technique. A comprehensive materials selection chart (Ashby plot) is also produced to facilitate the design of a PFRP component, based on the (absolute and specific) tensile properties.

The building and construction sector accounts for around 39% of global carbon dioxide emissions and remains a hard-to-abate sector. We use a data-driven analysis of global high-level climate action on emissions reduction in the building sector using 256,717 English-language tweets across a 13-year time frame (2009–2021). Using natural language processing and network analysis, we show that public sentiments and emotions on social media are reactive to these climate policy actions. Between 2009–2012, discussions around green building-led emission reduction efforts were highly influential in shaping the online public perceptions of climate action. From 2013 to 2016, communication around low-carbon construction and energy efficiency significantly influenced the online narrative. More significant interactions on net-zero transition, climate tech, circular economy, mass timber housing and climate justice in 2017–2021 shaped the online climate action discourse. We find positive sentiments are more prominent and recurrent and comprise a larger share of the social media conversation. However, we also see a rise in negative sentiment by 30–40% following popular policy events like the IPCC report launches, the Paris Agreement and the EU Green Deal. With greater online engagement and information diffusion, social and environmental justice topics emerge in the online discourse. Continuing such shifts in online climate discourse is pivotal to a more just and people-centric transition in such hard-to-decarbonise sectors.

Background/objectiveProductivity and monetary loss due to migraine in the workplace may be substantial. This study aimed to determine the impact of migraine on productivity and monetary lost among employees in the banking sectors, in a multiethnic middle income country.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted among employees in two multinational banks in Malaysia between April and July 2019. Screening for migraine was conducted using the self-administered ID-Migraine™ questionnaire. Migraine-related disability (MIDAS) and headache frequency were recorded. Impact of migraine on work productivity and activities were evaluated using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI) questionnaire.ResultsOf the 1268 employees who submitted complete responses, 47.2% (n = 598) were screened positive for migraine. Strikingly, the mean percent productivity loss at work (presenteeism) was almost 20-fold higher than the mean percent work time missed due to migraine (absenteeism) (39.1% versus 1.9%). The mean percent productivity loss in regular activity (activity impairment) and overall work productivity loss (work impairment) was 38.4% and 39.9%, respectively. It was also found that the costs related to presenteeism (MYR 5392.6) (US$1296) was 3.5-fold higher than absenteeism (MYR1,548.3) (US$370). Highest monetary loss related to presenteeism was reported in migraineurs with frequency of headache of above 3 days (MYR 25,691.2) (US$6176), whereas highest monetary loss related to absenteeism was reported in migraineurs with MIDAS grade IV (MYR 12,369.1) (US$2973). Only 30% of migraineurs of MIDAS grade IV reported taking prescribed medication. Notably, a vast majority (96%) of migraineurs who had three or lower episodes of migraine per month did not seek treatment.ConclusionThe significant impact of migraine on work productivity and regular activity, appears to lead to substantial monetary loss attributed to not only absenteeism, but more importantly to presenteeism. This study also highlights the unmet needs in migraine management among employees in the banking sector.

We investigated spatial and temporal patterns in the concentration and composition of submicron particulate matter (PM1) in Oakland, California, in the summer of 2017 using an aerosol mass spectrometer mounted in a mobile laboratory. We performed ∼160 h of mobile sampling in the city over a 20-day period. Measurements are compared for three adjacent neighborhoods with distinct land uses: a central business district (“downtown”), a residential district (“West Oakland”), and a major shipping port (“port”). The average organic aerosol (OA) concentration is 5.3 µg m−3 and contributes ∼50 % of the PM1 mass. OA concentrations in downtown are, on average, 1.5 µg m−3 higher than in West Oakland and port. We decomposed OA into three factors using positive matrix factorization: hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA; 20 % average contribution), cooking OA (COA; 25 %), and less-oxidized oxygenated OA (LO-OOA; 55 %). The collective 45 % contribution from primary OA (HOA + COA) emphasizes the importance of primary emissions in Oakland. The dominant source of primary OA shifts from HOA-rich in the morning to COA-rich after lunchtime. COA in downtown is consistently higher than West Oakland and port due to a large number of restaurants. HOA exhibits variability in space and time. The morning-time HOA concentration in downtown is twice that in port, but port HOA increases more than two-fold during midday, likely because trucking activity at the port peaks at that time. While it is challenging to mathematically apportion traffic-emitted OA between drayage trucks and cars, combining measurements of OA with black carbon and CO suggests that while trucks have an important effect on OA and BC at the port, gasoline-engine cars are the dominant source of traffic emissions in the rest of Oakland. Despite the expectation of being spatially uniform, LO-OOA also exhibits spatial differences. Morning-time LO-OOA in downtown is roughly 25 % (∼0.6 µg m−3) higher than the rest of Oakland. Even as the entire domain approaches a more uniform photochemical state in the afternoon, downtown LO-OOA remains statistically higher than West Oakland and port, suggesting that downtown is a microenvironment with higher photochemical activity. Higher concentrations of particulate sulfate (also of secondary origin) with no direct sources in Oakland further reflect higher photochemical activity in downtown. A combination of several factors (poor ventilation of air masses in street canyons, higher concentrations of precursor gases, higher concentrations of the hydroxyl radical) likely results in the proposed high photochemical activity in downtown. Lastly, through Van Krevelen analysis of the elemental ratios (H ∕ C, O ∕ C) of the OA, we show that OA in Oakland is more chemically reduced than several other urban areas. This underscores the importance of primary emissions in Oakland. We also show that mixing of oceanic air masses with these primary emissions in Oakland is an important processing mechanism that governs the overall OA composition in Oakland.

Predictive analytics using electronic health record (EHR) data have rapidly advanced over the last decade. While model performance metrics have improved considerably, best practices for implementing predictive models into clinical settings for point-of-care risk stratification are still evolving. Here, we conducted a systematic review of articles describing predictive models integrated into EHR systems and implemented in clinical practice. We conducted an exhaustive database search and extracted data encompassing multiple facets of implementation. We assessed study quality and level of evidence. We obtained an initial 3393 articles for screening, from which a final set of 44 articles was included for data extraction and analysis. The most common clinical domains of implemented predictive models were related to thrombotic disorders/anticoagulation (25%) and sepsis (16%). The majority of studies were conducted in inpatient academic settings. Implementation challenges included alert fatigue, lack of training, and increased work burden on the care team. Of 32 studies that reported effects on clinical outcomes, 22 (69%) demonstrated improvement after model implementation. Overall, EHR-based predictive models offer promising results for improving clinical outcomes, although several gaps in the literature remain, and most study designs were observational. Future studies using randomized controlled trials may help improve the generalizability of findings.

Bioplastics have the potential to fill the role of conventional plastics but with lowered environmental and ecological impacts. But bioplastic production suffers from high production costs and as an immature technology, it proves less competitive than its petrol-based counterpart. Debates about the social versus private benefits of bioplastics are also cited. The literature argues that various bio-feedstock sources can produce high-quality drop-in plastics and that scaling up bioplastic production will provide the cost competitiveness needed to transition away from petroplastics. However, the market remains uncoordinated and lacks a strategic and comprehensive plan for the plastic transition. Moreover, the science-to-policy literature on bioplastics is very limited, providing scarce evidence or analysis to policymakers attempting to argue for bioplastics industrialization and integration. In this study we highlight this missing link particularly in the North American context in order to encourage further inquiry on these matters. Using Stern’s policy framework gap analysis approach, our evaluation identifies gaps in existing policy frameworks pertinent to bioplastics supply chains. On this basis we identify and prioritize five pointed areas for policy focus to advance bioplastics sector growth and integration. These are developing a strategy to sustainably coordinate and promote biomass production; incentivizing bioplastic investments and production; incentivizing bioplastic substitution; and enhancing the end-use management. Additionally, research is needed to support the technical performance of bioplastics, industrialization methods, supply chain integration, and the impact of exogenous factors.