J Synchrotron Rad

A high-temperature multi-axial test is carried out to characterize the thermo-mechanical behaviour of a 3D-woven SiC/SiC composite aeronautical part under loads representative of operating conditions. The sample is L-shaped and cut out from the part. It is subjected to severe thermal gradients and a superimposed mechanical load that progressively increases up to the first damage. The sample shape and its associated microstructure, the heterogeneity of the stress field and the limited accessibility to regions susceptible to damage require non-contact imaging modalities. An in situ experiment, conducted with a dedicated testing machine at the SOLEIL synchrotron facility, provides the sample microstructure from computed micro-tomographic imaging and thermal loads from infrared thermography. Experimental constraints lead to non-ideal acquisition conditions for both measurement modalities. This article details the procedure of correcting artefacts to use the volumes for quantitative exploitation (i.e. full-field measurement, model validation and identification). After proper processing, despite its complexity, the in situ experiment provides high-quality data about a part under realistic operating conditions. The influence of the mesostructure on fracture phenomena can be inferred from the tomography in the damaged state. Experiments show that the localization of damage initiation is driven by the geometry, while the woven structure moderates the crack propagation. This study widens the scope of in situ thermo-mechanical experiments to more complex loading states, closer to in-service conditions

Assessing the role of CAP for more sustainable and healthier food systems in Europe:A literature review

Today, the European food system is characterized by unhealthy dietary trends, environmentally unsustainable production, and a dependency on an ageing farming population. The ongoing reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) represents an opportunity to redress these issues. This literature review highlights trends in how academic and grey literature have received CAP attempts in addressing the (i) environmental issues, (ii) nutritional outcomes, and (iii) rural livelihoods. Additionally, future policy and research directions relating to the CAP have been identified from the selected literature. The reviewed literature varies in approach and perspective. In particular, since the environment and rural development are already part of the CAP, the reviewed studies analyze and propose improvements to existing mechanisms. While for nutrition, the reviewed studies assessed possible policy strategies for integrating this sphere within the CAP, highlighting both the complexity of this task as well as its potential benefits. Despite these differences, a clear commonality emerged from the policy recommendations: the CAP should promote the European Union (EU) policy integration and multi-disciplinary and participatory research as key strategies to meet food system sustainability targets.</p

Crowning glory: public law, power and the monarchy

‘New public law’ has a keen interest in the deployment of power and the shifting nature of the public and private. In this article, we argue that the historical legacy of the Crown has hindered the ability of public lawyers to respond to changes in modes of governance in the UK. The constitutional law textbook tradition has played a key role in limiting critiques of the Crown because of the obfuscation that surrounds the legal and political status of the Monarch. However, instead of discounting the significance of the monarchy, we use it as a resource for exploring governing power, the blurring of boundaries and constitutional renewal. Our starting point is the life, death and, most importantly, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. The latter event exposed the political relevance of the ‘personal’ in a most dramatic way, generating claims about the ‘feminisation of the government’ and ‘emotions augmenting democracy’. We follow through on these claims in order to focus on the effects of adopting private, intimate-sphere norms in the public sphere, in particular public-sphere decision making. While aware of the risks associated with this ‘transformation’ of democracy, we conclude that the increasing centrality of the intimate merits onsideration in new public law’s search for progressive tools of modern governance

Indigenous biocultural knowledge in ecosystem science and management: review and insight from Australia

Worldwide, environmental conservation directives are mandating greater inclusion of Indigenous people and their knowledge in the management of global ecosystems. Colonised countries such as the United States of America, New Zealand and Australia have responded with an array of policy and programs to enhance Indigenous involvement; however, balancing Indigenous and non-Indigenous priorities and preferred management methods is a substantial challenge. Using Australia as a case study, we investigate past documentation and use of Indigenous biocultural knowledge (IBK) and assess the main contributions to ecosystem science and management. Focussing on the terrestrial environment, this innovative paper presents an integrated review of IBK documentation (IBKD) by conducting a spatial, temporal and content analysis of the publically available literature. A spatial analysis of the place-based documents identified Australian IBKD hotspots, gaps and opportunities for further collaboration. Sixty percent of IBKD has occurred off the Indigenous estate with only 19% of the total coinciding with current Indigenous Protected Areas. We also found that IBKD hotspots were different to Australia’s biodiversity hotspots suggesting opportunity for development of integrated biological and cultural hotspots. A temporal analysis of IBKD showed exponential growth since the 1970s and typical involvement of non-Indigenous researchers. Indigenous authorship remained negligible until the 1990s when there was an obvious increase, although only 14% of IBKD to date has acknowledged Indigenous authorship. Working through Australia’s broad biological conservation priorities, we demonstrate how IBK has and can be used to inform research and management of biodiversity, threatened species, aquatic ecosystems, fire, invasive species, and climate change. We also synthesise documented suggestions for overcoming cross-cultural awareness and communication challenges between Indigenous people and biologists, environmental managers and policy makers. Lastly, we suggest that inclusion of both tangible and philosophical engagement of Indigenous people in national conservation agendas may promote more holistic socio-ecological systems thinking and facilitate greater progress towards addressing the Indigenous engagement directive of international conservation agreements

Constitutive and IFN-γ-induced nuclear import of STAT1 proceed through independent pathways

STAT1 functions as both a constitutive transcriptional regulator and, in response to cytokine stimulation of cells, as an inducible tyrosine-phosphorylated transcription factor. Here, we identify and characterize a non-transferable nuclear targeting sequence in the STAT1 DNA-binding domain. This conserved signal is critical for the interferon-γ (IFN-γ)-induced nuclear import of phosphorylated STAT1 dimers and requires adjacent positively charged and hydrophobic residues for functioning. Additionally, the constitutive nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of STAT1 in the absence of IFN-γ stimulation is revealed. Nuclear import and export of unphosphorylated STAT1 are demonstrated to be sensitive towards wheat germ agglutinin and to occur independently of the import receptor p97. Loss-of-function mutations of the dimer-specific import signal block nuclear entry of tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT1, which in turn also prevents induction of cytokine-inducible target genes. Nevertheless, nuclear import of unphosphorylated STAT1 continues and the STAT1-dependent constitutive expression of caspases and the tumor necrosis factor-α-mediated induction of apoptosis proceed unaltered. Thus, tyrosine-phosphorylated and unphosphorylated STAT1 molecules shuttle via independent pathways to distinct sets of target genes