Search

Learning to spell is a difficult but essential task for children learning to read. Several spelling tasks involving different cognitive demands are used in classroom. To provide better guidance for teaching practices, a critical question is whether spelling performance of beginner readers is task dependent. The present study focuses on the performance of French first graders on two spelling tasks: picture to spelling and dictation to spelling. We hypothesize that spelling will be easier from a phonological entry (dictation) than from a semantic entry (picture). Sixty-three students spelled words in both tasks. Bayesian analyses showed moderate to strong evidence for the null hypothesis, suggesting that the dictation to spelling task is equivalent for first graders as the picture to spelling task. Exploratory analyses also suggest that first graders mobilize both the non-lexical and lexical routes for the two tasks. These results provide clues for spelling instruction in the first grades.

An increasing number of autistic students attend mainstream secondary schools in both France and Quebec. The importance of considering their views on subjects that affect their daily life is now well established in education research. Still, little is known about how these students cope with specific aspects of inclusion. This article explores the school experience of teenagers, considered as "the most expert, most capable of telling what it is like to be them" (Speraw in Qual Health Res 19(6):732-743, p 736, 2009), regarding their academic and social inclusion. Specifically, we aim to identify inhibitors and enablers to promoting successful educational experiences in a Francophone context; 26 autistic students (aged 12-16), attending mainstream secondary schools in France (n = 17) and Quebec (n = 9), were interviewed. Managing sensory aspects, perceived immature behaviours from their peers and tiredness are identified as the main hardships of school life. Being included in an intensive academic programme, being driven by a passion and having a friend inside the school are reported as important enablers. For high-functioning autistic students, transition into adult life constitutes one of the major challenges and has to be anticipated as soon as possible. Recommendations for practice are put forward to foster their empowerment and specify support needed to help them gain essential autonomy and practical skills necessary in the workplace and to be able to speak for themselves.

The goal of the current study was to statistically evaluate the reliable scalability of a set of tasks designed to assess Theory of Mind (ToM) without language as a confounding variable. This tool might be useful to study ToM in populations where language is impaired or to study links between language and ToM. Low verbal versions of the ToM tasks proposed by Wellman and Liu (2004) for their scale were tested in 234 children (2.5 years to 11.9 years). Results showed that 5 of the tasks formed a scale according to both Guttman and Rasch models whereas all 6 tasks could form a scale according to the Rasch model only. The main difference from the original scale was that the Explicit False Belief task could be included whereas the Knowledge Access (KA) task could not. The authors argue that the more verbal version of the KA task administered in previous studies could have measured language understanding rather than ToM.

Background: Patients with ARDS due to COVID-19 may require tracheostomy and transfer to a weaning center. To date, data on the outcome of these patients are scarce. The objectives of this study were to determine the factors associated with time to decannulation and limb-muscle strength recovery. Methods: This was an observational retrospective study of subjects with COVID-19-related ARDS requiring tracheostomy after prolonged ventilation, who were subsequently transferred to a weaning center from April 4, 2020-May 30, 2020. Results: Forty-three subjects were included. Median age (interquartile range) was 61 (48-66) y; 81% were men, and median body mass index (BMI) was 30 (26-35) kg/m2. Tracheostomy was performed after a median of 19 (12-27) d of mechanical ventilation, and the median ICU length of stay prior to transfer to the weaning center was 30 (21-46) d. On admission to the weaning center, the median Medical Research Council (MRC) score was 36 (27-44). Time to decannulation was 9 (7-18) d after admission to the weaning center. The only factor independently associated with early decannulation was the MRC score on admission to the weaning center (odds ratio 1.16 [95% CI 1.06-1.31], P = .005). Two factors were independently associated with MRC gain ≥ 10: BMI (odds ratio 0.88 [95% CI 0.76-0.99], P = .045) and MRC on admission (odds ratio 0.91 [95% CI 0.82-0.98], P = .03. Three months after admission to the weaning center, 40 subjects (93%) were weaned from mechanical ventilation and 36 (84%) had returned home. Conclusions: MRC score at weaning center admission predicted both early decannulation and limb-muscle strength recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed the "ECUME" risk-based approach to identify and prioritize critical impact pathways to be considered in cumulative impact assessment of offshore windfarms, and for future research. The prioritization framework has been tested on two offshore windfarms projects located in the French part of the English Channel off the coast of Normandy, those of Fécamp and Courseulles-sur-Mer. The approach is based on a complete inventory of impact pathways, prioritizing those for which an impact assessment will be carried out. The aim was to avoid a "quantification bias" and elaborate a systemic vision. The novelty of the study is to apply a combination of expert judgement, consensus building, and a scoring system, to prioritize the pairs of pressures and receptors of the marine environment to work on. The scoring system is based on the ecological importance of receptors, the degree of knowledge on the effect of a pressure on a receptor and the sensitivity of each receptor to pressures. Priorities for research were also determined during the same process. Bringing together a large set of specialized marine environnement scientists, the initial challenge was to build a common vocabulary, and a shared understanding of the risk-based prioritization approach. This required significant time and effort but secured foundations for further work. This study confirms the increasingly shared view that adopting a risk-based approach considering adverse effects on receptors is an efficient way to assess cumulative impacts, to focus on critical impact pathways, and manage the scientific complexity and the significant uncertainties. • We prioritize issues in cumulative impact assessment of offshore windfarms. • Prioritization combines risk-based expert judgement and a scoring system. • It is also used to identify priority research areas for the future. • It was tested on two French offshore windfarm projects. • Such a risk-based approach allows to manage scientific complexity and uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of cyclophosphamide in patients with acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is unknown. Our study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of four cyclophosphamide pulses in addition to high-dose methylprednisolone in this population. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 35 departments across 31 hospitals in France, adult patients (≥18 years) with acute exacerbation of IPF and those with suspected acute exacerbation of IPF were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio using a web-based system to receive either intravenous pulses of cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m2) plus uromitexan as haemorrhagic cystitis prophylaxis (200 mg/m2) at the time of cyclophosphamide administration and then again, 4 h later, or placebo at days 0, 15, 30, and 60. Random assignment was stratified according to the severity of IPF and was block-balanced with variable block sizes of four or six patients. Patients receiving mechanical ventilation, with active infection, with active cancer, or who were registered on the lung transplant waiting list were excluded. All patients received standardised high-dose glucocorticoids. The investigators, patients, and the sponsor were masked to the treatment assignments. The primary endpoint was 3-month all-cause mortality, analysed by a χ2 test adhering to an intention-to-treat principle. The trial is now complete and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT02460588. Between Jan 22, 2016, and July 19, 2018, 183 patients were assessed for eligibility, of whom 120 patients were randomly assigned and 119 patients (62 [52%] with severe IPF) received at least one dose of cyclophosphamide (n=60) or placebo (n=59), all of whom were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The 3-month all-cause mortality was 45% (27/60) in patients given cyclophosphamide compared with 31% (18/59) in the placebo group (difference 14·5% [95% CI −3·1 to 31·6]; p=0·10). Similar results were found after adjustment by IPF severity (odds ratio [OR] 1·89 [95% CI 0·89–4·04]). The risk of death at 3 months, independent of the treatment received, was higher with severe than non-severe IPF (OR 2·62 [1·12–6·12]) and was lower with the use of antifibrotic therapy (OR 0·33 [0·13–0·82]). Adverse events were similar between groups by 6 months (25 [42%] in the cyclophosphamide group vs 30 [51%] in the placebo group) and their proportion, including infections, did not differ. Overall infection was the main adverse event and occurred in 20 (33%) of 60 patients in the cyclophosphamide group versus 21 (36%) of 59 patients in the placebo group. In patients with acute exacerbation of IPF, adding intravenous cyclophosphamide pulses to glucocorticoids increased 3-month mortality. These findings provide evidence against the use of intravenous cyclophosphamide in such patients. Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique of the French Ministry of Health (PHRC 2014–502), Roche Pharmaceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 2010s, the French government officially launched its energy transition strategy dedicated to offshore renewable energy. Since 2011, the government has launched several calls for tender for the construction of commercial fixed offshore wind farms in the English Channel and off the Atlantic coast. In parallel, in the mid-2010s, the French State showed an interest in floating wind energy, with the planning of four pilot farms off the Atlantic and the Mediterranean coasts. Although the offshore wind energy sector is growing in Europe, floating offshore wind energy deployment is currently at an early stage. Floating offshore wind energy represents a major technological breakthrough, harnessing offshore energy resources that were as yet out of reach, but which are recognized as more abundant. In addition to strengthening France's strategic positioning among the pioneer countries in Europe for the development of increasingly mature technology, floating wind turbines present other assets: diversifying the French offshore renewable energy mix, improving an offshore sector that is, apparently, less controversial or disrupted than its bottom-fixed counterpart (in terms of cohabitation with other maritime uses and preservation of marine ecosystems). To better understand the socio-political impediments to the implementation of floating wind farms, we conducted a study of the local governance process around the implementation of one of the first floating offshore wind farms in France, in the Bay of Biscay. This study focuses on the analysis of perceptions of floating OWF impacts by decision-makers involved in the validation process of the Environmental Impact Assessment: how do these decision-makers perceive, value and relate to the marine ecosystem in the presence of a floating OWF? How do ecological factors shape decision-making, and what ecological factors are involved? The paper applies a network perspective in the analysis of the local marine social-ecological system (SES) to: identify nested social-ecological variables and key social-ecological networks influencing the licensing process in the floating OWF sector in France, 2) analyzing the power positions and the functioning of interactions through ethnographic observation of a political-administrative process, and pragmatically questioning the environmental governance of energy transition towards sustainability. • A network perspective combining three theoretical approaches to enhance the analysis of marine social-ecological systems. • An ethnography of the process of the Environmental Impact Assessment validation of a planned pilot floating OWF in France. • The results summarize social-ecological key drivers of floating offshore wind farm (OWF) political acceptability in France. • The network perspective also unravels power positions and mechanisms that shape local public action towards sustainability. • The proposed framework contributes to better connecting basic research to final decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A detailed urban heat exchange simulation software, the Town Energy Balance (TEB), has been used to analyse the impact of urban parameters on energy balance during a summer and a winter day under Paris, France, climatic conditions. Computer runs were conducted to explore the influence of each of the urban parameters selected. The results showed that impacts of these parameters differ between summer and winter. In summer, radiative parameters like roof and wall albedo have the strongest influence on urban energy balance. Whereas in winter, thermal parameters like wall and roof thermal insulation have the strongest influence on urban energy balance. This analysis corroborates the great influence of roofs albedo on urban energy balance and its role in urban heat island (UHI) mitigation. This also points out the fact that summer UHI mitigation strategies influence urban heat balance during winter season. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines the role that ethnographic maps played in international relations in the mid to late 19th century. The author reports that the demand for maps spiked in 1848 and so map production was greatly increased. These maps were widely circulated, but the focus of this article is the way maps were used particularly for diplomacy by the French. The degree of reliance placed on these maps is also examined.

This paper presents an assessment of the vulnerability to erosion of sandy coasts of Vendée (W France). The hazard is assessed i) by the long term by measuring the historical evolution of the shoreline between 1950 and 2016 ii) by the short term by measuring the instantaneous retreats due to extreme events. The method applied in this paper is based on the recommendations of a methodological guide for coastal hazards (PPRL Guide: MEDDE, 2014). In the Coastal Risk Prevention Plans (PPRL in French), erosion hazard zone is written as follow: "Lr = 100 Tx + Lmax" with Lr = the width of the hazard zone, Tx = the average annual retreat rate, Lmax = the value of the maximum retreat following an extreme event. We propose the following recommendations like define the parameter Lmax considering more than one storm (with two cases: i) Lothar/Martin (1999) and Xynthia (2010)), ii) make the projection by 2050 instead of 2100 in the PPRL), iii) update the data used to define the erosion hazard zone in the PPRL risk maps. • A study conducted on 109 km of sandy coastline. • The measurement of instantaneous shoreline retreat during the 1999 and 2010 storms. • A calculation of the parameter Lmax (retreat due to an extreme event). • Information by transects every 20m. • Recommendations to improve the erosion hazard strips of the Coastal Risk Prevention Plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OR2C (Observatoire Régional des Risques Côtiers) is a new observatory of coastal hazards located in the Pays de la Loire region on the Atlantic coast of France. It was created, in 2016, in a context of high regional vulnerability to coastal erosion and storm surges. The OR2C is in charge of monitoring nearly 400 km of coastline. Its major mission is to reinforce the scientific knowledge and improve tools for managing coastal hazards, reducing thus exposure to risks. Its set-up is also related to the need of a regional body to gather all parties involved in researching and managing coastal hazards, with the aim to create a regional dynamic of observation. The OR2C is based on original governance that creates a strong interface between academics and managers because it combines public institutions, research centers, decisional bodies, and operational bodies. This governance strengthens the dynamic of observation of coastal erosion and storm surges along the regional coast by improving the networking of the OR2C twenty-eight members. Monitoring strategy is based on an airborne LiDAR technology that provides annual topo-bathymetric data. One of the OR2C first actions was to establish an initial LiDAR acquisition survey (t0) in 2016 along 140 km of sandy coasts. The obtained data are updated every year and freely accessible to the coastal managers. The data are also used in an innovative toolbox of spatial analysis of coastal risks (MAp-RISC), which has an ability to map predisposition of coastal sectors exposed to coastal hazards. MAp-RISC provides several indicators to support decision-making, and could also be used in the future to update policies or strategic documents. • The main characteristics of the OR2C and its conditions of deployment. • The main actions carried out since 2016 and their main outcomes. • A unique tool for coastal hazard management (MAp-RISC). • Regional coastal observatories are appropriate networks to fight against coastal risks. • The OR2C is a new model of integrated regional collective action against coastal hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]