Métacognition : intervention thérapeutique autour de la conscience des troubles chez des patients souffrant de traumatisme crânio-cérébral grave

Unawareness related to brain injury has implications for participation in rehabilitation, functional outcomes, and the emotional well being of patients after an acquired brain injury. However, the development of interventions for improving self-awareness is at an early stage, and research on the effectiveness of interventions is limited. The present paper is an investigation into the efficacy of a metacognitive program on self-awareness in people who have had an acquired brain injury. An experimental group of three patients were included in a “cross-over design” protocol including data from neuropsychological evaluations, cognitive complaints, behavioral and emotional changes. In comparison, a social intervention (communicative abilities, social interaction) was proposed to four other patients in order to estimate the specific effects of the metacognitive program. While no specific effect of the metacognitive program was highlighted on cognitive impairments, a post-intervention assessment indicated that participants had significantly improved behavioral limitations, suggesting a benefit of the metacognitive and social rehabilitations on behavior skills. Because benefits are similar whatever the program, it seems that social functioning implication in rehabilitation process needs to be taken into account in forthcoming interventions

Development and application of an algorithm for detecting <i>Phaeocystis globosa</i> blooms in the Case 2 Southern North Sea waters

While mapping algal blooms from space is now well-established, mapping undesirable algal blooms in eutrophicated coastal waters raises further challenge in detecting individual phytoplankton species. In this paper, an algorithm is developed and tested for detecting Phaeocystis globosa blooms in the Southern North Sea. For this purpose, we first measured the light absorption properties of two phytoplankton groups, P. globosa and diatoms, in laboratory-controlled experiments. The main spectral difference between both groups was observed at 467 nm due to the absorption of the pigment chlorophyll c3 only present in P. globosa, suggesting that the absorption at 467 nm can be used to detect this alga in the field. A Phaeocystis-detection algorithm is proposed to retrieve chlorophyll c3 using either total absorption or water-leaving reflectance field data. Application of this algorithm to absorption and reflectance data from Phaeocystis-dominated natural communities shows positive results. Comparison with pigment concentrations and cell counts suggests that the algorithm can flag the presence of P. globosa and provide quantitative information above a chlorophyll c3 threshold of 0.3 mg m-3 equivalent to a P. globosa cell density of 3 × 106 cells L-1. Finally, the possibility of extrapolating this information to remote sensing reflectance data in these turbid waters is evaluated

Trait-based representation of diatom functional diversity in a plankton functional type model of the eutrophied southern North Sea

We introduce a trait-based description of diatom functional diversity to an existing plankton functional type (PFT) model, implemented for the eutrophied coastal ecosystem in the Southern Bight of the North Sea. The trait-based description represents a continuum of diatom species, each characterized by a distinct cell volume, and includes size dependence of four diatom traits: the maximum growth rate, the half-saturation constants for nutrient uptake, the photosynthetic efficiency, and the relative affinity of copepods for diatoms. Through competition under seasonally varying forcing, the fitness of each diatom varies throughout time, and the outcome of competition results in a changing community structure. The predicted seasonal change in mean cell volume of the community is supported by field observations: smaller diatoms, which are more competitive in terms of resource acquisition, prevail during the first spring bloom, whereas the summer bloom is dominated by larger species which better resist grazing. The size-based model is used to determine the ecological niche of diatoms in the area and identifies a range of viable sizes that matches observations. The general trade-off between small, competitive diatoms and large, grazing-resistant species is a convenient framework to study patterns in diatom functional diversity. PFT models and trait-based approaches constitute promising complementary tools to study community structure in marine ecosystems

Development and application of an algorithm for detecting Phaeocystis globosa blooms in the Case 2 Southern North Sea waters

While mapping algal blooms from space is now well-established, mapping undesirable algal blooms in eutrophicated coastal waters raises further challenge in detecting individual phytoplankton species. In this paper, an algorithm is developed and tested for detecting Phaeocystis globosa blooms in the Southern North Sea. For this purpose, we first measured the light absorption properties of two phytoplankton groups, P. globosa and diatoms, in laboratory-controlled experiments. The main spectral difference between both groups was observed at 467 nm due to the absorption of the pigment chlorophyll c3 only present in P. globosa, suggesting that the absorption at 467 nm can be used to detect this alga in the field. A Phaeocystis-detection algorithm is proposed to retrieve chlorophyll c3 using either total absorption or water-leaving reflectance field data. Application of this algorithm to absorption and reflectance data from Phaeocystis-dominated natural communities shows positive results. Comparison with pigment concentrations and cell counts suggests that the algorithm can flag the presence of P. globosa and provide quantitative information above a chlorophyll c3 threshold of 0.3 mg m−3 equivalent to a P. globosa cell density of 3 × 106 cells L−1. Finally, the possibility of extrapolating this information to remote sensing reflectance data in these turbid waters is evaluated