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Physiological and biochemical indicators of Posidonia oceanica transplantation success
No full textpeer reviewedEvaluating the success of Posidonia oceanica transplantation is challenging due to the species' slow growth and delayed structural responses. This three-year study in Calvi Bay (Corsica) examined how transplantation method (iron staples, coconut fiber mats, BESE elements), donor source (donor meadow vs. storm-fragments), transplantation depth (20 m vs. 28 m) and time post transplantation influence the physiological and biochemical parameters of transplanted cuttings. Plant responses were assessed through photosynthetic activity, leaf elemental concentrations (C, N, P, S), and rhizome carbohydrate reserves. Transplanting depth and transplantation method had limited effects on the measured parameters. The transplanting method, influencing root development, suggests distinct strategies for resource acquisition without altering physiological parameters. In contrast, donor source emerged as the main driver of variability: cuttings from donor meadows consistently showed higher nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, lower C:N ratios, and faster convergence towards natural meadow trait profiles than storm-fragments. Multivariate analyses revealed early convergence between donor meadow cuttings and natural meadows, whereas storm-fragments remained distinct. By 36 months, both donor types again diverged from reference conditions. These results demonstrate the value of trait-based approaches, particularly eco-physiological indicators, as sensitive, early measures of transplantation success, complementing traditional structural metrics. We recommend including C, N, P, and starch concentrations as key biochemical indicators in restoration monitoring programs, as they provide integrative and early signals of seagrass metabolic status and recovery potential. Full convergence with reference meadows appears to be a long-term process, emphasizing the importance of extended monitoring and careful donor selection to improve seagrass restoration outcomes.14. Life below wate
Prodiges, crise et urgence. Écrire l’extraordinaire pour comprendre la guerre civile (1585-1629)
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Evaluation of thermal comfort in mixed-mode office buildings in hot and semi-arid climates: a case study from Burkina Faso
No full textpeer reviewedThe assessment of thermal comfort in mixed-mode office buildings located in hot dry climates remains insufficiently explored, particularly in West African contexts such as Burkina Faso, where no local comfort standards currently exist. This study aims to address thermal comfort conditions in office buildings in the warm semi-arid climate of Ouagadougou, by combining field measurements of indoor environmental parameters with thermal comfort surveys conducted across eight mixed-mode office buildings. The field protocol included simultaneous monitoring of indoor and outdoor conditions, along with more than 1,100 thermal comfort votes collected through structured questionnaires during hot, cold, and rainy seasons. The results indicate that occupants’ thermal sensation and preference differ significantly between Natural Ventilation (NV) and Air-Conditioned (AC) operation modes. Neutral temperatures, estimated using the Griffiths method, ranged between 26.0 °C and 30.3 °C, while preferred temperatures ranged between 26.8 °C and 30.2 °C. A strong adaptive behavior was observed among occupants, particularly under NV mode, where comfort persisted at higher operative temperatures. Compared to international standards, the adaptive models of ASHRAE 55 (80 % acceptability limits) and EN 16798-1 (Category III) were found to be applicable under NV conditions but underestimated comfort limits during AC operation with an average exceedance from 0.5 °C to 0.7 °C, particularly during the peak hot season. These findings suggest the need for a context-specific adjustment of comfort temperature ranges in mixed-mode buildings within hot and dry climates. However, further studies are necessary to validate these results and support the development of regionally appropriate standards.11. Sustainable cities and communities3. Good health and well-bein
System level structural reliability model for offshore wind turbines
No full textThe increasing structural and economic complexity of offshore wind turbine support structures has amplified the need for reliability assessments that can adequately represent the uncertainties associated with long-term deterioration mechanisms, such as fatigue and corrosion.
Conventional structural reliability models typically rely on simplifying assumptions, including statistical independence among components, which may underestimate or overestimate system-level risks.
To reduce epistemic uncertainties and integrate data from multiple sources—including inspections and structural health monitoring (SHM)—Bayesian updating with structural reliability methods (BUS) has been widely investigated.
However, existing BUS frameworks, especially those based on dynamic Bayesian networks (DBNs), suffer from exponential computational growth with the number of components, limiting their applicability to realistic structural systems.
This thesis introduces a novel multi-level BUS framework (mBUS) that enables tractable Bayesian updating of deteriorating structural systems while preserving physical interpretability and avoiding the need for surrogate modeling or correlation optimization.
The proposed approach decomposes the system into component-level deterioration models while accounting for statistical dependencies via shared physical parameters, enabling efficient posterior inference even in high-dimensional settings.
The formulation is validated against DBN models through a series of randomized scenarios and an illustrative example, demonstrating comparable accuracy with significantly reduced computational burden.
Two application cases illustrate the practical value of the method.
The first explores inspection and maintenance planning for a monopile substructure using heuristic policy search, revealing substantial cost reductions when system-level effects are incorporated.
The second focuses on end-of-life decision-making for a monopile foundation, showing how failure probability and remaining useful life (RUL) estimates are sensitive to system-level correlations.
Overall, the mBUS framework provides a robust and scalable basis for probabilistic structural assessment, offering a realistic alternative for engineering decision-making under uncertainty in offshore wind applications.MAXWind – MAintenance, Inspection and EXploitation Optimization of Offshore Wind Farms subjected to Corrosion-Fatigu
Catherine de' Medici and the Documentary Order of Power in France during the Wars of Religion (Gaillon, 1563 – Lyon, 1574)
No full textpeer reviewedCet article analyse la transformation décisive du gouvernement royal français opérée par Catherine de Médicis entre 1563 et 1574, à travers l'étude comparative de deux documents majeurs : la lettre de Gaillon (8 septembre 1563) et l'instruction d'août 1574. L'auteur démontre comment le secret devient une véritable architecture politique, où la chaîne documentaire (paquets/placets/apostilles) produit une mémoire administrative immédiatement disponible et convertit l'activité du conseil en norme.
L'hypothèse centrale propose l'émergence d'un « troisième corps du roi », distinct du corps naturel et du corps mystique, incarné par l'appareil administratif et ses secrétaires d'État. En 1563, Catherine théorise un gouvernement urbain « soubz main », visant à contrôler les élections municipales par cooptation discrète des élites patriciennes. En 1574, dans un contexte de crise dynastique, elle concentre cette technologie politique sur le cœur du pouvoir : la centralisation de la lecture des dépêches devant le roi, la présence permanente des secrétaires d'État au cabinet royal, et l'élévation du secret au rang de principe organisateur de l'État.
Le règlement lyonnais de septembre 1574 traduit quasi immédiatement ces préceptes en ordonnance royale, révélant l'existence d'un appareil administratif déjà capable de convertir des orientations politiques en procédures opérationnelles. Cette translation technologique, sans rupture idéologique, applique la même mécanique scripturaire à des topiques distinctes du pouvoir. L'article conclut à l'émergence d'une « souveraineté procédurale », où les papiers d'État cessent d'être seulement la mémoire du pouvoir pour en devenir le mode d'existence même, préfigurant l'État administratif moderne.This article analyses the decisive transformation of French royal government implemented by Catherine de' Medici between 1563 and 1574, through comparative study of two major documents: the Gaillon letter (8 September 1563) and the instruction of August 1574. The author demonstrates how secrecy becomes a veritable political architecture, wherein the documentary chain (packets/petitions/marginal notes) produces immediately available administrative memory and converts council activity into normative regulation.
The central hypothesis proposes the emergence of a "third body of the king", distinct from both the natural body and the mystical body, embodied by the administrative apparatus and its secretaries of state. In 1563, Catherine theorises urban government "soubz main" (covertly), aiming to control municipal elections through discreet co-option of patrician elites. In 1574, amidst dynastic crisis, she concentrates this political technology upon the heart of power: centralisation of dispatch-reading before the king, permanent presence of secretaries of state in the royal cabinet, and elevation of secrecy to an organising principle of the state.
The Lyonnais regulation of September 1574 translates these precepts almost immediately into royal ordinance, revealing an administrative apparatus already capable of converting political orientations into operational procedures. This technological translation, without ideological rupture, applies the same scriptural mechanics to distinct topographies of power. The article concludes with the emergence of "procedural sovereignty", wherein state papers cease to be merely the memory of power to become its very mode of existence, prefiguring the modern administrative state
