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Praline Gay-Para, conteuse résolument contemporaine et urbaine, ne connaissait que des récits traditionnels, ceux qui lui furent racontés dans son pays et sa langue d’origine. Elle utilise l’expression de « mémoire intégrale » pour faire comprendre qu’elle se souvient certes de ces récits entendus de conteurs et conteuses traditionnels, mais qu’elle en a retenu aussi la voix, le souffle, l’image de leur corps, leurs façons de parler, l’événement de parole que fut chacune de ces écoutes. Elle dit aussi sa façon d’être une conteuse contemporaine, résolument urbaine, qui construit ses récits à partir de faits réels, d’images, de manières de dire, de témoignages, voire de graffitis. Tous ces éléments s’organisent dans sa tête en récits dont la première forme est orale, avant de passer à l’écrit. Et parfois, curieusement, « ces histoires » rejoignent un conte traditionnel, comme celle de la Dame rousse, née d’une rumeur, réplique imprévu de la Dame Trude des frères Grimm. On lira dans le texte de P. Gay-Para une manière d’être « conteur contemporain ».Praline Gay-Para, modern and urban storyteller, only knew traditional tales, told her in her country and in her native language. She uses the expression “integral memory” in order to signify that she remembers not only the tales told by traditional storytellers, but also the voice, the breath, their bodies, the way they spoke, in a word the whole speech-act of every single performance. She also says that she is a modern, urban storyteller, building tales from real events, pictures, ways of speaking, accounts, and even graffiti. She organizes all these elements in tales, first in an oral form, and then she writes them down. Sometimes, these stories are oddly close to a traditional tale, like “La Dame rousse”, based on a rumour, which unexpectedly replicates the Grimm brothers’ “Dame Trude”. P. Gay-Para’s text demonstrates one way of being a “modern storyteller”

Molecular Imaging of Microglial Activation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

There is growing evidence of activated microglia and inflammatory processes in the cerebral cortex in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Activated microglia is characterized by increased expression of the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) in the brain and may be a useful biomarker of inflammation. In this study, we evaluated neuroinflammation in ALS patients using a radioligand of TSPO, 18F-DPA-714. Ten patients with probable or definite ALS (all right-handed, without dementia, and untreated by riluzole or other medication that might bias the binding on the TSPO), were enrolled prospectively and eight healthy controls matched for age underwent a PET study. Comparison of the distribution volume ratios between both groups were performed using a Mann-Whitney’s test. Significant increase of distribution of volume ratios values corresponding to microglial activation was found in the ALS sample in primary motor, supplementary motor and temporal cortex (p = 0.009, p = 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). These results suggested that the cortical uptake of 18F-DPA-714 was increased in ALS patients during the ‘‘time of diagnosis’’ phase of the disease. This finding might improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of ALS and might be a surrogate marker of efficacy of treatment on microglial activation

1H-NMR-Based Metabolomic Profiling of CSF in Early Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Background: Pathophysiological mechanisms involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are complex and none has identified reliable markers useful in routine patient evaluation. The aim of this study was to analyze the CSF of patients with ALS by 1 H NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy in order to identify biomarkers in the early stages of the disease, and to evaluate the biochemical factors involved in ALS. Methodology: CSF samples were collected from patients with ALS at the time of diagnosis and from patients without neurodegenerative diseases. One and two-dimensional 1 H NMR analyses were performed and metabolites were quantified by the ERETIC method. We compared the concentrations of CSF metabolites between both groups. Finally, we performed principal component (PCA) and discriminant analyses. Principal Findings: Fifty CSF samples from ALS patients and 44 from controls were analyzed. We quantified 17 metabolites including amino-acids, organic acids, and ketone bodies. Quantitative analysis revealed significantly lower acetate concentrations (p = 0.0002) in ALS patients compared to controls. Concentration of acetone trended higher (p = 0.015), and those of pyruvate (p = 0.002) and ascorbate (p = 0.003) were higher in the ALS group. PCA demonstrated that the pattern of analyzed metabolites discriminated between groups. Discriminant analysis using an algorithm of 17 metabolites reveale

The resilience of adolescents from adolescent-headed families within the school context

M.Ed.The influence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic as well as the significant impact it has left on children and adolescent who are left without parental guidance and support has huge implications for communities. As the epidemic spreads, adolescent-headed families are becoming more and more frequent in society, posing great challenges to extended families that have to care for additional children, causing a collapse on parental functions. This leads to the emergence of a new family structure where great strain is placed on children who are often left to fend for themselves. The absence of parental care and support often not only affect their social emotional development, but also their scholastic performance. This inquiry attempted to understand how these adolescents cope with difficulties related to living without caregivers, and as to how some can overcome the odds and still successfully progress with expectations placed by the school context. The inquiry utilized a phenomenological research design that is exploratory in nature. The data collection methods included semi-structured interviews with four participants, two boys and two girls. Each of the four participants also wrote narratives of their life stories. Two focus group interviews were also conducted, one with the four participant's educators and the other with another group of adolescents from adolescent-headed families. Data obtained was analysed using content analysis to determine the common themes and subthemes that emerged

Le parler des Sirjé de Guadeloupe, le contact arabe/créole

Gay-Para Praline. Le parler des Sirjé de Guadeloupe, le contact arabe/créole. In: Langage et société, n°41, 1987. Contacts de langues : quels modèles. pp. 71-72