A More Effective Ramsar Convention for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands

The Ramsar Convention is the multilateral agreement aimed at protecting wetlands globally. Wetlands are particularly recognized for their role in the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot by providing key habitats for endemic and migratory species, directly contributing benefits to the lives of people and being an integral part of their culture. In response to this importance, the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory publishes Mediterranean Wetland Outlooks (MWOs) on the state and trends of Mediterranean wetlands; the first edition in 2012 (MWO1) and the second edition in 2018 (MWO2). In this paper, we used the results of the two Mediterranean Wetland Outlooks to highlight ways to increase the impact of the Ramsar Convention by identifying the spatial dimensions of detected biodiversity trends as well as the societal developments and estimated impacts of global change and protection status

Speech rehabilitation in chronic post-stroke aphasia using visual illustration of speech articulators.A case report study

International audienceQuestion: Studies on the remediation of speech disorders suggest that providing visual information on speech articulators may contribute to improve speech production abilities. We evaluated the effect of a new rehabilitation method based on the display of pre-recorded articulatory movements, on the speech recovery of a patient with post-stroke non-fluent chronic aphasia. We propose that visualizing speech articulators, such as the tongue and lips, can increase the patient’s ability to recover speech motor programs and can improve their speech abilities.Methods: The rehabilitation was based on the Ultraspeech-player software which presents speech sounds together with the movements of the speech articulators (tongue and lips) of a reference speaker, recorded using ultrasound and video imaging. The patient was trained for 4 weeks (3 sessions/week) by watching and hearing target phonemes and syllables and by imitating them. The effects of this method were assessed by analyzing, before and after rehabilitation: (i) the accuracy scores during four speech tasks (phoneme and word repetitions, word reading and phonemic discrimination); (ii) the phonological processes identified in the errors made during the phoneme repetition task and (iii) the acoustic parameters (voice onset time VOT, formants F1 and F2, spectral moments) obtained from the audio signal recorded in the phoneme repetition task. A neuropsychological assessment was also performed, before and after rehabilitation, in order to evaluate: cognitive performances, executive function, visual episodic memory, mental rotation abilities and mood.Results: Our results showed that the illustration-based rehabilitation method had a beneficial effect on the patient’s speech production and reading abilities. The positive impact was stronger for stop and fricative consonants, which are targeted by the software (higher visibility of the articulatory configurations). Acoustic parameters reveal an improvement in the VOT for stop consonants and in the place of articulation for fricatives (alveolar, post-alveolar and labiodental). However, the patient showed little improvement for vowels. Moreover, the integrity of visuo-spatial ability, short-term and working memory and some executive functions also supports the effectiveness of the rehabilitation method. Conclusion: These findings support the use of an illustration-based rehabilitation method and argue for the necessity of detailed qualitative and quantitative assessment in speech production to provide more thorough descriptions of speech abilities in patients with non-fluent aphasia

A More Effective Ramsar Convention for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands

International audienceThe Ramsar Convention is the multilateral agreement aimed at protecting wetlands globally. Wetlands are particularly recognized for their role in the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot by providing key habitats for endemic and migratory species, directly contributing benefits to the lives of people and being an integral part of their culture. In response to this importance, the Mediterranean Wetlands Observatory publishes Mediterranean Wetland Outlooks (MWOs) on the state and trends of Mediterranean wetlands; the first edition in 2012 (MWO1) and the second edition in 2018 (MWO2). In this paper, we used the results of the two Mediterranean Wetland Outlooks to highlight ways to increase the impact of the Ramsar Convention by identifying the spatial dimensions of detected biodiversity trends as well as the societal developments and estimated impacts of global change and protection status

Effect of visual feedback on speech recovery and language plasticity in patients with post-stroke non-fluent aphasia. Functional MRI assessment

International audienceObjectiveTo assess the efficiency of Visual Feedback (VF) on language recovery and plasticity in three chronic non-fluent aphasic patients. VF is based on language-action interaction, thus, language skills are improved by rehabilitation strategies based on execution and observation of motor actions. VF is an ultrasound system coupled with video images, allowing patients to ‘see their own lips and tongue at work’ during speech and improve their awareness of their lingual and labial movements and their ability to coordinate and combine phonemes and syllables. Brain plasticity was explored with functional MRI.Material/Patients and methods– Control group tested with functional MRI to identify language networks underlying three tasks of interest;– three patients with non-fluent chronic aphasia after ischemic stroke, were examined in neuropsychology, speech therapy, acoustics and fMRI, before and after VF. VF has been applied during 14 sessions (2 weeks, 1 per day). The performance was evaluated before and after VF. In fMRI, specific comparisons were performed to identify: – patterns of reorganization reflecting spontaneous neuro-plasticity, – the effect of VF on speech recovery and language plasticity.ResultsAfter 14 sessions of VF, acoustic analyses showed a more canonical vowel production and better repetition of consonants. Speech analysis for repetition of syllables, naming and rhytme judgment, showed a general improvement of performances, variable among patients. In terms of cerebral activation, various patterns of language reorganization were obtained according to task and level of language recovery. A general trend can be identified with the improvement of language performance after VF, which is a right hemispheric predominance before VF, followed by a return of the activity to the left hemisphere, after VF.Discussion - ConclusionResults are discussed according to current models of inter and intra-hemispheric reorganization of language

Factors affecting medical file documentation during telephone triage at an emergency call centre: a cross-sectional study of out-of-hours home visits by general practitioners in France

Background: In France, general practitioners (GPs) perform out-of-hours home visits (OOH-HVs) after physician-led telephone triage at the emergency call centre. The quality of a systematic physician-led triage has not been determined in France and may affect the efficiency of the OOH-HV process. The objectives of this study were first, to evaluate the quality of reporting in the electronic patient's file after such triage and second, to analyse the factors associated with altered reporting. Methods: Cross-sectional study in a French urban emergency call centre (district of Paris area) from January to December 2015. For a random selection of 30 days, data were collected from electronic medical files that ended with an OOH-HV decision. Missing key quality criteria (medical interrogation, diagnostic hypothesis or ruled-out severity criteria) were analysed by univariate then multivariate logistic regression, adjusted on patient, temporal and organizational data. Results: Among 10,284 OOH-HVs performed in 2015, 748 medical files were selected. Reasons for the encounter were digestive tract symptoms (22%), fever (19%), ear nose and throat symptoms, and cardiovascular and respiratory problems (6% each). Medical interrogation was not reported in 2% of files (n = 16/748) and a diagnostic hypothesis in 58% (n = 432/748); ruled-out severity criteria were not reported in 60% (n = 449/748). On multivariate analysis, altered reporting was related to the work overload of triage assistants (number of incoming calls, call duration, telephone occupation rate; p < 0.03). Conclusion: In the electronic files of patients requiring an OOH-HV by a GP in a French urban area, quality in medical reporting appeared to depend on organizational factors only, especially the triage assistants-related work factors. Corrective measures are needed to ensure good quality of triage and care

The forest on the peninsula: impacts, uses and perceptions of a colonial legacy in Cyprus

Throughout history the values and meanings attached to habitats and species in particular places have seen considerable change. Such shifts in perspective are of particular relevance to the biology of invasions, with human attention and values often determining both the initial movement of species around the world, and the decision that subsequent independent spread should be considered damaging to the environment. This chapter examines such a case for the Akrotiri peninsula, Cyprus, where a particular colonial story about the degraded state of the environment, and the need to combat malaria, led to the introduction of various Australian trees for sanitation and other purposes. Today, some of these non-native species are considered invasive, and are having impacts on valued wetland habitats on the peninsula. We use archival research to investigate the changes in policy towards these habitats and the non-native species that affect them, and field research to describe the ecological context. Our study illustrates the complex interactions between ideas, practical aims, and values that lie behind the planned and invaded habitats at Akrotiri

Biodiversité, évolution et fonctionnement des écosystèmes: Prospectives de l’Institut Ecologie et Environnement du CNRS,

International audienc