All sport events have inherent injury and illness risks for participants. Healthcare services for sport events should be planned and delivered to mitigate these risks which is the ethical responsibility of all sport event organisers. The objective of this paper was to develop consensus-driven guidelines describing the basic standards of services necessary to protect athlete health and safety during large sporting events. By using the Knowledge Translation Scheme Framework, a gap in International Federation healthcare programming for sport events was identified. Event healthcare content areas were determined through a narrative review of the scientific literature. Content experts were systematically identified. Following a literature search, an iterative consensus process was undertaken. The outcome document was written by the knowledge translation expert writing group, with the assistance of a focus group consisting of a cohort of International Federation Medical Chairpersons. Athletes were recruited to review and provide comment. The Healthcare Guidelines for International Federation Events document was developed including content-related to (i) pre-event planning (eg, sport medical risk assessment, public health requirements, environmental considerations), (ii) event safety (eg, venue medical services, emergency action plan, emergency transport, safety and security) and (iii) additional considerations (eg, event health research, spectator medical services). We developed a generic standardised template guide to facilitate the planning and delivery of medical services at international sport events. The organisers of medical services should adapt, evaluate and modify this guide to meet the sport-specific local context.

The riparian forests in north Algeria : attempting to draw up a synsystematic synthesis in the western Mediterranean area. In Northern Africa, in recent decades, damage due to population increase, urbanisation and river management has resulted in a sharp decline in both area and quality of the forests in general, and riparian forests in particular. A regional study of the North Algerian riparian forests has been undertaken. Numerical analysis of the data revealed 3 main types of riparian forest communities, the plain alders of eastern Algeria, a biome unique to North Africa, riveraine forests of white poplar, the most important in their distribution and amount of surface cover, and high-altitude riparian forests, of which several new types have been described. This contribution aims mainly at comparing riparian forests from North Africa, which up till now had been poorly known and were not taken into account in a global system, with their homologue in the north-western Mediterranean sector. It submits a synsystematic diagram that does not only offer a new approach for all theses formations at the scale of the Western Mediterranean, but also shows the uniqueness of the riparian communities in the Maghreb (Clematido cirrhosae-Populion albae all. nov.) compared to the northerly Populion albae Br.-Bl. 1931.

Sur le versant méridional de l’Alborz central (Iran), entre 2500-3700 m d’altitude, s’observent, au sein d’un environnement semi-aride global, des communautés hygrophiles à Carex orbicularis subsp. kotschyana, liées à des sources ou suintements permanents très localisés. Elles s’apparentent aux formations de «pozzines» décrites de nombreux massifs du pourtour méditerranéen (Corse, Afrique du Nord, Grèce méridionale) et d’Anatolie. L’originalité floristique de ce groupement résulte de sa localisation aux confins des régions phytogéographiques euro-sibérienne et irano-touranienne. Malgré la persistance et l’importance de l’élément euro-sibérien, et en particulier des espèces des Caricetea fuscae, 1’interprétation syntaxonomique de ces communautés reste délicate. Ce groupement, de nature hybride, semble précurseur d’unités hygrophiles propres à la région irano-touranienne qui devraient prendre progressivement leur expansion dans les massifs plus méridionaux (Zagros) et orientaux (Hindu-Kush, Pamir, Tien-Shan). Ainsi, les données relatives aux massifs d’Asie moyenne permettent d’envisager l’existence d’un Caricetum orbicularis-pseudofoetidae, homologue purement irano-touranien des pozzines de l’Alborz, dont l’optimum de développement semble atteint dans les chaînes du Tadjikistan central.

Adaptive rowing (AR) at the Paralympic level is accessible for rowers with physical disability. AR was included for the first time in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. Racing distance for all AR events is currently 1000 m, which impedes public recognition of this sport and leads to many organisational challenges during the inclusive World Rowing Championships. The aim of this report was to discuss the feasibility of increasing AR race distance to 2000 m from a sports injury and athletic health perspective. As limited data on injury and illness risks exist in AR, knowledge and experiences had to be taken from other Paralympic sports. The anticipated duration of 2000 m AR competitions is either comparable or considerably lower than that of the other Paralympic disciplines with similar characteristics. AR has inherent injury and health risks especially within thorax, shoulders and low back region, but they are not expected to be significantly modified by increased racing times. Specific considerations need to be taken into account for athletes with a spinal cord injury, like in other sport disciplines. There are no distinctive contra-indications for AR events of 2000 m based on the current literature review and a 10-year experience in this sport. Long-term follow-ups are needed to understand fully the injury and health risk associated with AR and to develop appropriate prevention strategies.

Sur le versant nord de l'Alborz et aux extrémités orientales du Grand et du Petit Caucase, les chênaies à Quercus macranthera qui, au sein des Querco-Fagetea peuvent être rattachées aux Rhododendro-Fagetalia orientalis Quézel, Barbero & Assadollahi 1980, constituent l'ultime groupement forestier d'altitude. Elles se rapportent à deux grands types, liés à des conditions climatiques assez particulières : - le premier, décrit de l'Alborz central, sous climat humide et tempéré, d'extension altitudinale réduite (2.400-2.800 m), succède à la hêtraie à Fagus orientalis. Il est représenté par l'Aceri hyrcani-Quercetum macrantherae, se différenciant en trois sous-unités, s'échelonnant en altitude. Des groupements très voisins sont signalés sur les versants nord et sud du Grand Caucase oriental (2.000/2.400 et 2.200/2.500 m) et la bordure nord et nord-est du Petit Caucase. - le second type, sous climat à tendance continentale sèche, est développé dans l'Alborz oriental et surtout en Arménie centrale et méridionale, ainsi qu'au sud de l'Azerbajdzhan, où les influences climatiques de la mer Noire et de la Caspienne sont considérablement atténuées par les massifs montagneux environnants. Compte tenu de la disparition de la hêtraie, l'amplitude altitudinale de cette chênaie peut atteindre près de 1.300 m, sa limite inférieure pouvant s'abaisser jusqu'à 1.400 m. Bien que correspondant à des groupements nettement plus thermophiles, ce type semble toutefois s'insérer, en ce qui concerne les unités supérieures, dans le cadre syntaxonomique déjà précisé. Il est intéressant de constater que se retrouve dans ces chênaies, quel que soit leur type, un certain nombre d'espèces représentatives de syntaxons souvent liés aux lisières des groupements forestiers des Querco-Fagetea européens (Artemisietea vulgaris, plus particulièrement l'Alliarion et Epilobietea) ou du Ouercion pubescenti-petraeae Br.-Bl. 1931 (Trifolio-Geranietea). En définitive, dans un contexte forestier restant de nature euro-sibérienne, le remplacement, au niveau subalpin de ces massifs asiatiques, des Vaccinio-Piceetea Br.-Bl. 1939 européens par des unités dépendantes des Querco-Fagetea est un élément particulièrement marquant. L'explication de ce phénomène est vraisemblablement à rechercher dans le régime de faibles glaciations ayant prévalu sur ces massifs et qui a étroitement conditionné les migrations floristiques, plus particulièrement entre l'Europe méridionale et ces régions asiatiques.