Can thermal anomalies impair the restoration of Cystoseira s.l. forests?

Marine macroalgal forests are facing unprecedented challenges worldwide due to the accelerating impacts of climate change. These ecosystems play a crucial role in supporting biodiversity, coastal ecosystem functions and services, and are indeed object of several conservation and restoration measures. The Mediterranean Sea is warming faster than the oceans and thermal anomalies are occurring with increasing intensity, frequency and duration. Along the Mediterranean coasts, Cystoseira sensu lato species are the main representatives of macroalgal forests and their decline has been widely documented. Some relevant achievements in the implementation of ecological restoration have been obtained, but rising temperatures and the occurrence of thermal anomalies increasingly threaten the success of these restoration attempts. In the summer of 2022, ex-situ restoration actions of Ericaria amentacea were carried out by collecting fertile material from three donor sites of the Italian coasts along a latitudinal gradient, during the period of sexual maturity (June/July). Noteworthy during the summer of 2022, anomalous thermal conditions were recorded at the donor sites, with sea surface temperatures exceeding the climatological mean up to 4.3 °C and heatwaves lasting up to 78 days. Our results suggest that these thermal anomalies may have affected the culture of the embryos in both the pre- and post-zygotic phases, resulting in significantly low culture efficiency at the three donor sites. The reproductive structures showed some abnormalities, fertilization of eggs was lower and embryo growth was slower, resulting in lower percent cover of seedlings on the tiles and lower survival rate. The observations underscore the vulnerability of Mediterranean algal forests to global change and highlight additional challenges for their restoration due to the increasing frequency and severity of thermal anomalies, emphasizing the need for adaptive strategies and a comprehensive understanding of the species in a changing climate. Marine forest restoration requires long lasting projects, to allow for long-term monitoring and better understanding the biology of the species and for mitigating stochastic events that can cause the temporary failure of efforts.

Neuropsychology as a profession in Italy.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of individuals working in the field of neuropsychology in Italy, as part of a larger study examining the practice of neuropsychology across various countries. They were asked about their background, professional training, current work situation, types of assessment, preferred diagnostic procedures, as well as the rehabilitation techniques, their targeted populations, teaching responsibilities, and research activities. A total of 154 professionals completed an online survey from April 28, 2016 through June 30, 2016. The majority of participants were women, with a mean age of 42.6 years. Participants reported working for the National Health System, in private practice, or in private rehabilitation facilities. Overall, they reported being very satisfied with their work. Those who identified themselves as neuropsychologists primarily assessed individuals with dementia, stroke, movement disorders, and traumatic brain injury. While the majority of participants declared no problems with the instruments they used, others reported complaints, including but not limited to the financial cost of current neuropsychological tests and the lack of psychometric support. The main perceived obstacles were the lack of willingness to collaborate among professionals, the scarcity of academic training programs, and the lack of clinical training opportunities.

Horizontal space misrepresentation in unilateral brain damage. II. Eye-head centered modulation of visual misrepresentation in hemianopia without neglect.

We used a visual distance reproduction task (endpoint task) to evaluate horizontal space representation in two left brain damaged (LBD) and three right brain damaged (RBD) patients with contralateral homonymous hemianopia and no neglect. All patients were examined in the chronic phase of the stroke and were aware of their visual field defect. Along with contralesional deviation in the line bisection task, all patients estimated size (Landmark task) and distances in the contralesional space as being longer than equivalent size and distances located in the ipsilesional space. Misreproduction of distances was abolished or reduced when the task was performed in the ipsilesional head-centred space with the head turned contralesionally. This finding points out that misrepresentation of horizontal space linked to hemianopia can be modulated by combined proprioceptive input from eye and neck muscles. The pattern of misrepresentation found in chronic hemianopic patients is opposite to the one described in chronic neglect patients with concomitant hemianopia. These different patterns of space misrepresentation are the likely consequence of the presence, in hemianopics, and the absence, in neglect patients with hemianopia, of compensatory strategies based on the non-retinotopic and multimodal coding of spatial positions falling in the retinotopically organised blind field.