Wetland Conservation and Sustainable Development in Kerala, India

As in Kerala, comprehensive and scientific assessment of wetland areas in the rest of India is not yet done in spite of the wetland management programs and conservation rules existing in the country. Consistent datasets are available only for specific wetland types like mangrove forests. Inconsistencies in the national wetlands database are also due to changes in the assessment methodologies, which prevent the understanding of the changing nature of the wetlands (Prasad et al. 2002). The Ramsar Site Information Sheets (RSIS) of Indian Ramsar sites need to be updated by incorporating the present status. Details of the three Ramsar sites have not been updated yet since their designation in 2002 (Ramsar 2019d). Similarly, and despite the directives of the KCPWA 2008, the absence of proper datasets of the wetlands and paddy fields in Kerala has affected policy planning and protection measures and contributed to the degeneration of wetlands and paddy fields (Chitra 2016). WCMR 2017 stipulates that the inventory of all wetlands in Kerala should be complete within 1 year, but SWAK is yet to complete the wetland database (GoK 2019), which in turn affects adversely conservation measures in Kerala

Atenção seletiva: PSI em crianças com distúrbio de aprendizagem Selective attention: psi performance in children with learning disabilities

A atenção seletiva é importante para o aprendizado da leitura e escrita. OBJETIVO: Estudar os processos de atenção seletiva de crianças com e sem distúrbio de aprendizagem. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: O Grupo I foi constituído de quarenta indivíduos com idades entre nove anos e seis meses a dez anos e 11 meses, que apresentavam baixo risco para alteração no desenvolvimento das habilidades auditivas, linguagem e aprendizagem. O Grupo II foi constituído de 20 indivíduos com idades entre nove anos e cinco meses a 11 anos e dez meses, diagnosticados como portadores de distúrbio de aprendizagem. Foi realizado estudo prospectivo através do Teste Pediátrico de Inteligibilidade de Fala (PSI). RESULTADO: O teste PSI com mensagem competitiva ipsilateral, à orelha direita, na relação fala/ruído 0 e -10 foi apropriado para diferenciar o Grupo I e o Grupo II de forma estatisticamente significante. Atenção ao desempenho do Grupo II na performance da primeira orelha testada deve ser dada, por subsidiar características importantes de desempenho e reabilitação. CONCLUSÃO: O PSI foi adequado para diferenciar os grupos, havendo uma associação com o grupo com distúrbio de aprendizagem, que revelou alteração nos processos de atenção seletiva.<br>Selective attention is essential for learning how to write and read. AIM: The objective of this study was to examine the process of selective auditory attention in children with learning disabilities. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Group I included forty subjects aged between 9 years and six months and 10 years and eleven months, who had a low risk of altered hearing, language and learning development. Group II included 20 subjects aged between 9 years and five months and 11 years and ten months, who presented learning disabilities. A prospective study was done using the Pediatric Speech Intelligibility Test (PSI). RESULT: Right ear PSI with an ipsilateral competing message at speech/noise ratios of 0 and -10 was sufficient to differentiate Group I and Group II. Special attention should be given to the performance of Group II on the first tested ear, which may substantiate important signs of improvements in performance and rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: The PSI - MCI of the right ear at speech/noise ratios of 0 and -10 was appropriate to differentiate Groups I and II. There was an association with the group that presented learning disabilities: this group showed problems in selective attention