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• Review of provisions for seismic qualification of BRBs prescribed in various codes. • BRB core strain (JP) is a more practical way to specify the deformation amplitudes. • The AISC (US) loading protocol specifies the largest target deformation amplitude. • Requirement of minimum cumulative inelastic deformation in JP code is the most severe. • EN 15129 (EU) loading protocol imposed the largest cumulative inelastic demands. • Two new loading protocols for qualification of BRBs with enhanced requirements. The paper presents a research on testing protocols for seismic performance assessment and qualification of buckling-restrained braces (BRBs). The purpose of the study was to propose new loading protocols that consider the most demanding performance requirements available worldwide. In this study, the loading protocols for qualification testing of BRBs prescribed in the codes of four countries/regions, United States, Europe, China, and Japan, plus a non-official Canadian loading protocol, were consulted. The review focused on the background and characteristics, such as the maximum deformation amplitude, deformation range, and number of cycles, of each loading sequence. Then, a database composed of 35 BRB specimens, selected from 16 past experimental studies, was compiled to perform a series of simulations of quasi-static cyclic tests of BRBs under the five different loading histories. The OpenSees platform was used to carry out the modeling, calibration, and analyses. The demands imposed to BRBs were evaluated in terms of cumulative inelastic deformation and cumulative dissipated energy. In addition, the cumulative distribution of the hysteretic energy was defined as a parameter for the assessment of the amplitude-growth rule of the loading protocols. Based on the code review and analyses results, a series of criteria were established and two new loading protocols, GLP-1 and GLP-2, were proposed. Results demonstrated that both proposed loading histories impose superior cumulative inelastic demands and showed a good agreement with the reference cumulative distribution of the hysteretic energy. Thus, they are recommended as loading protocols for BRB qualification testing with global applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public affairs and lobbying is a high status and strategically vital public relations specialism. It is a field of PR practice that generates high levels of both scholarly and public concern in regard to its perceived role in supporting corporate power and the associated impact on the functional legitimacy of democratic institutions. For this paper a content analysis was conducted of academic journals (between 2000 and 2013) to provide insights into how public affairs and lobbying have been theorised and researched within public relations scholarship and to ascertain to what degree wider public concerns have been addressed. Findings include an empirical confirmation of the low level of research activity on public affairs; that stakeholder and rhetorical theories have been the most widely used theories, but are far from constituting dominant paradigms; that scholarship has privileged functional objectives over civic concerns; and that published work originates almost entirely from institutions in Europe and the US with the Global South invisible. The paper also discusses future directions for research in public affairs and advocates the placing of discourse into definitions of public affairs, and that academic public relations should assert responsibility for this field, but in a manner that more equitably balances organisational and societal concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although malachite green (MG), is banned in Europe and US for its carcinogenic and teratogenic effect, the dye being cheap, is persistently used in various countries for fish farming, silk, dye, leather and textile industries. Current research, however, fails to elucidate adequate knowledge concerning the effects of MG in our ecosystem. In the present investigation, for the first time, an attempt has been made to study the effects of MG on soil biota by testing Bacillus subtilis , Azotobacter chroococcum , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Penicillium roqueforti , Eisenia fetida and seeds of three crop plants of different families. Various tests were conducted for determining cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, acute toxicity, morphological and germination effect. Our data confirmed MG toxicity on fungi and bacteria (gram positive and gram negative organisms) showing elevated level of ROS. Genotoxicity caused in the microorganisms was detected by DNA polymorphism and fragmentation. Also, scanning electron microscopy data suggests that the inhibitory effect of MG to these beneficial microbes in the ecosystem might be due to pore formation in the cell and its eventual disruption. Filter paper and artificial soil test conducted on earthworms demonstrated a LC 50 of 2.6 mg cm −2 and 1.45 mg kg −1 respectively with severe morphological damage. However, seed germination of Mung bean, Wheat and Mustard was found to be unaffected in presence of MG up to 100 mg L −1 concentration. Thus, understanding MG toxicity in non target soil organisms and emphasis on its toxicological effects would potentially explicate its role as an environmental contaminant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]