NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
De l’anthropos : se savoir humain, entre foi et savoir

The secularization phenomenon, which in our western societies seeks to free itself from the sacred, has contributed to the emergence of a human figuration at the centre of the universe. Despite this progress, traces of the sacred that induce tensions between faith and knowledge continue to prevail today within secularization. These two universal concepts, which legitimately attract and repel each other, fundamentally question the human, to the point of putting into question the human’s underlying ontology. An observation that poses its own diagnosis. In fact, the question of the anthropos continues to articulate itself within the tradition of religion. If modernity, initiated by Kantian anthropology, poses the first attempts of an emancipation of the sacred by advocating the autonomy of reason, this idealized secular human does not renounce the world of God. And with good reason, as it is always represented as secular in contrast with the human of the religious sphere. Seeking to overcome all forms of resistance regarding the divine dimension, I propose letting the human emerge and come to be represented by means of a thought experiment that extends beyond the interpretative gesture imposed by the institutionalization of religion. I will go back to the first traces of the human that persist in early documents and texts that precede the concept of human as we understand it. This legacy may have been forgotten, but it was not lost. In the manner of an archaeologist of languages, I return to the first moments of naming in writing that takes place in Genesis. In these writings, which recall the event of Babel that plunges the human into the dissemination of its proper name, emerges the need for the human being to translate itself anew, as a work, in its own language, just to survive. Translate itself in order to know itself as human rather than as "anthropos". To understand the modalities of this task, I’ve brought together the ancient thinkers Paul of Tarsus, Seneca, and Clement of Alexandria. In analyzing these writings, I have scrutinized and cross-referenced the nominations of the human from the occurrences of the words "anthropos" and "homo", while avoiding as much as possible the interpretive prism imposed by the institutionalization of religion. I sought inspiration from a stoic interpretive framework deriving from Epictetus to create, through dialogue with these three ancient thinkers, the translation of the secular human. A translation that stems from the anthropology of happiness based on the coherence of the disciplines of judgment, desire and action. A translation, has ultimately led to thinking that, avant la lettre, before writing, there is a way to think the emergence of anthropos, neither profane, sacred, religous or secular, that there is a way to "know oneself" as anthropos.

Keyphrases: Anthropos, Benjamin, Humankind, Humanity, Secularism, Language, Faith, Knowledge, Writing, Translation
L'évaluation systématique de la lombalgie selon les données probantes

In order to arrive at the right diagnosis, clinicians must select appropriate and conclusive clinical tests.  We have reviewed the evidence-based literature on clinical tests used in the physical exam of the lumbar spine. These tests will confirm or invalidate the diagnostic impression formulated at the end of the clinical interview. In this research, we have found convincing proof that no single test can lead to the correct diagnosis. The research recommends that combinations of tests be used to validate the clinical diagnosis. If the results of the clinical tests are in agreement, the sensitivity and the specificity of the examination improves and the clinician is more confident of achieving the right diagnosis.

Keyphrases: Lombalgie, Diagnostic accuracy, Diagnostic tests, Screening tests, Diagnostic procedures, Low back pain, Lumbar spine, Evidence based
Densification & affordability : comparative real estate projects across Montreal

Montreal, Quebec is building towards a more compact urban form and there is a fundamental questioning of its effect on home-ownership affordability. Using the process of densification, a survey on a range of real estate condominium projects across the city is conducted to divulge the prices of new or in-construction projects. Beginning with a literature review of the most up to date planning stratagems, notably Smart Growth initiatives, the context for densification and consumerist tendencies to prefer sprawled urban forms is highlighted. Fundamentally, there is a teleocratic versus nomocratic planning approach that must be decided upon. Contemporary densification in Montreal is expressed in a myriad of condominium designs conforming to new demographic trends and lifestyles. Using existing criteria by Accès Condos, the projects are compared and validated as to whether or not condominium unit prices are affordable. As a result, new or in-construction condominium units are found to be affordable with respect to the Accès Condos programme and to median income households.  The analysis contributes empirically to the literature by relating the impetus of densification strategies with levels of affordability. The research takes a fresh look into Montreal's own condominium phenomenon alongside trending demographic studies. Using Burgess' spatial segregation of the city, a cross comparison survey tests for affordability across Montreal. The findings suggest that current projects are relatively affordable for median income earning households as per AccèsCondos.

Keyphrases: Densification, Affordability, Smart Growth, Condos, Demographic trends
Régulation du métabolisme des ARNm par les voies de signalisation MAPK et mTOR

It is now well established that gene expression is predominantly regulated by post-transcriptional events and that mRNA translation plays an essential role in this process. Translation of mRNAs is especially important in defining the proteome, maintaining homeostasis and controlling cell growth and cell proliferation. Several human diseases such as cancer are associated with aberrant regulation of protein synthesis highlighting the need to better understand the molecular mechanisms contributing to translational control. The translation initiation factor eIF4E is a key component of the translational machinery whose activity is controlled by its partners, the 4E-BP and 4E-T proteins. The PI3K/mTOR and MAPK signaling pathways, which are strongly implicated in cancer etiology, control mRNA translation by modulating eIF4E activity through the inhibition of the 4E-BPs and the regulation of eIF4E localization by 4E-T. In order to better understand how mRNA translation is regulated we used several approaches. First, we characterized the mechanisms contributing to mTORC1 activation in response to growth factor. We found that the kinase RSK, that lies downstream of the Ras/ERK pathway, directly controls mTORC1 activity by phosphorylating Raptor, the regulatory sub-unit of the complex. This provides evidence of an additional mechanism by which MAPK pathway regulates mTORC1. We next performed a proteomic screen to identify novel mTOR-regulated factors that actively participate in translation. This approach led to the identification of several candidate proteins which included the RNA-binding protein LARP1 that we found to be a major effector of mTORC1-mediated mRNA translation, cell growth and proliferation. Finally we investigated the impact of oxidative stress on translation inhibition and found that the JNK kinase controls 4E-T localization in P-bodies that are cytoplasmic granules containing non-translating mRNAs and proteins from the mRNA decay and silencing machineries. Together this work provides important novel insights into the regulation of mRNA translation and protein synthesis that represent processes strongly connected to tumorigenesis and brings precious information on the mechanisms by which signaling pathways control cell growth and proliferation.

Keyphrases: MAPK, eIF4E, P-Bodies, Signaling pathways, mRNA translation, mTOR
Rat protease-activated receptor–1 (rPAR1) expression and characterization in Sf9 cells

Thrombin’s serine protease activity allows for it to have a role in both the coagulation cascade as well as through a GTP- binding protein coupled receptor (GPCR) known as the protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1). Thrombin binds to PAR1 at the N-terminal, cleaving between Arg41 and Ser42, and unmasking a new N-terminal which acts as a tethered ligand. Thrombin and a five amino acid peptide composed of the sequence of residues Ser42 to Arg46, known as PAR 1-AP, has been shown to mediate a number of signalling mechanisms in mammalian cells, including a calcium signalling pathway.    In the present study, the Sf9-baculovirus system allowed us to express the rat PAR1 (rPAR1-Sf9) on the cell surface and study its intracellular signalling.  The calcium (Ca2+) signal was studied using the fluorescent probe Fura-2, and several Ca2+ channel inhibitors and calcium signal modulators were used to study the signal induced by PAR1-AP.    In the presence of extracellular calcium [Ca2+]e, thrombin and PAR1-AP produced a Ca2+ signal which consisted of an initial spike in [Ca2+]i followed by a relatively maintained plateau and a slow return towards baseline.  In the absence of Ca2+ in the extracellular space, the initial Ca2+ increase is followed by a quick return to baseline [Ca2+]i.  Ca2+ channel inhibitors, lanthanum, nifedipine and D-600, inhibited the entry of Ca2+ from the extracellular space and abolished the plateau phase of the response to PAR1-AP. Inhibition of the Ca2+-ATPase with thapsigargin abolished the response to PAR1-AP after having depleted the Ca2+ stores involved in the initial spike in [Ca2+]i. TMB-8, expected to inhibit the release of Ca2+ from internal stores, inconsistently inhibited the [Ca2+]i  response to PAR1-AP. The response elicited by PAR1-AP was not affected by D-609, an inhibitor of phospholipase Cβ. Inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC) with bisindolylmaleimide induced oscillations in the [Ca2+]i levels in the presence of extracellular Ca2+ while it significantly blunted the response in the absence of extracellular Ca2+. PDBu activation of PKC truncated the [Ca2+]i surge in Ca2+-rich conditions while abolishing it altogether in the absence of extracellular Ca2+.  H-89 inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA) prolonged the plateau duration in Ca2+-rich medium while inhibiting the response to PAR1-AP in a Ca2+-deficient environment.   Taken together, our results suggest that PKC and possibly PKA play a critical role in the mobilisation of Ca2+ in rPAR1-Sf9 by PAR1-AP.

Keyphrases: baculovirus, Fura-2, thrombin, protease-activated receptor, calcium channel, calcium signalling, Sf9 cell
Les effets de dialogue interne sur le processus de décision chez les jeunes joueurs élites de hockey sur glace

Self-talk (S-T) is a mental skill which is used more and more by elite athletes but there is a lack of research on its effect in team sports. Its impact deserves to be evaluated as much during team contexts and real competitions as it does in individual sports because self-talk can affect a team sport athlete's ability to perform mental skills such as good tactical decision-making and focusing on the proper stimuli. Therefore, with the participation of 10 elite hockey players varying from 16 to 20 years old, this study examines the effect of two distinct self-talk treatments, a motivational one and an instructional one. The analysis, evaluating the efficiency of the subjects' ability to accomplish collective tactics (effect on decision process) during the regular season games, has shown that all athletes showed some improvement in their performances. Generally, the group associated with the instructional self-talk treatment has proven to be considerably more effective in decision-making than the motivational group. However, the athletes from the motivational self-talk group generated better results than expected. It seems also that, in the short term, the instructional self-talk treatment was more difficult to assimilate than the motivational one but its positive impact appears to have lasted longer. Furthermore, the more experienced players did not display a better progression in their decision process compared to the less experienced ones. Also, motivational self-talk appears to have produced better effects than the instructional one when used during periods of fatigue and stress.

Keyphrases: Motivation, Instruction, Hockey, Internal dialogue, Self-talk, Collective tactics, Decision process
Hypoxie transitoire en relation avec les activités rythmiques des muscles de la mastication chez les patients atteints du bruxisme du sommeil

Study Objectives: Sleep bruxism (SB) is a repetitive jaw-muscle activity characterized by clenching or grinding of the teeth and/or by bracing or thrusting of the mandible occurring during sleep. SB is scored, from electromyographic traces, as rhythmic masticatory muscle activity (RMMA). Most RMMA occurred during sleep in association with sleep arousal. Since not all RMMA episodes were associated with sleep arousal we hypothesized that some event could be observed in relation to small fluctuations of the oxygen level resulting in mild desaturation/hypoxia.  Methods: Sleep laboratory or home recordings from 22 SB (teeth grinding) patients were analyzed from our data bank. A total of 143 RMMA/SB episodes were classified in 4 categories: (i) no arousal & no body movement; (ii) arousal + & no body movement; (iii) no arousal & body movement +; (iv) arousal + & body movement +. Minimum blood oxygen levels were assessed from finger oxymetry signal:  1) during the baseline period before RMMA, i.e., an average of 7 s before RMMA onset (-20 s to -14 s); 2) during RMMA, i.e. a window of 15 s corresponding to -5 s before the onset until +10 s after the episode. For all episodes, the minimum oximetry values were compared for each patient. Results: There was a significant variation of blood oxygen level over time (p=0.001) with a statistically significant transient hypoxia during RMMA at time (+7),(+8) and (+9) s. The variation over time was similar among the 4 groups (non significant group*time interaction p=0.10) and no overall difference was observed between groups (p=0.91). Of the 22 subjects, 6 subjects (27%) remained equal or had a slight increase in SaO2 (+8) s after the RMMA/SB onset compared to baseline (-20 s to -14) s, 10 subjects (45%) showed a small decrease in SaO2 (>0 to <1%) and 6 others (27%) had a decrease of 1-1.8%. Conclusions: These preliminary findings suggest that in some SB patients, RMMA episodes are potentially triggered by minor transient hypoxia.  Key words: sleep bruxism, oximetry, desaturation, hypoxia, rhythmic masticatory muscle activity

Keyphrases: Sleep bruxism, Oximetry, Desaturation, Hypoxia, Rhythmic masticatory muscle activity
Convergences/divergences : le dialogue intermédial dans Vues et visions de Claude Cahun

This dissertation studies the relationship between text and image in Claude Cahun’s Vues et visions, her first project realized in collaboration with the visual artist Marcel Moore. This heterogeneous object of art belongs to the iconotext genre (Alain Montandon) and establishes a dialogue between Cahun’s prose poems and Moore’s drawings to the point of deconstructing the reader’s horizon of expectation : he is induced to read and behold alternatively the texts and the images so that the boundary line that defines the literary’s and pictorial’s spaces appears porous.   Subdivided in two chapters, our work becomes attached in the first place to bring to light the role of the written word which incorporates some graphics of Marcel Moore. Inspired by a reading method called « iconolecture » by Emmanuelle Pelard, we will try to link the plasticity and the literal signification of the linguistic signs illustrated by those hybrid drawings while studying the formal and thematic similarities they share with Cahun’s prose poems. Using an intermedial perspective, the second chapter will study how the visual arts influence the poet’s writing style. After having broached the figure of the double, we will analyze the figure of allusion as a writing strategy to introduce the pictorial register in the literary texts that will lead us to study « l’image-en-texte » (Liliane Louvel). « L’effet-tableau » and the anamorphosis will be explored as frame of reference to conceive how links are tied between visual arts and poetry in Vues et visions.

Keyphrases: Claude Cahun, 20th century french literature, Text/image relationship, Late symbolism, Pictorial modernism, Intermediality
De Thiaroye on aperçoit l'île de Gorée. Histoire, anthropologie et mémoire d'un massacre colonial au Sénégal

By connecting history and anthropology, this thesis analyses the representations of the Thiaroye massacre, a repression of the tirailleurs sénégalais, Western African conscripts of the French army, in the Thiaroye camp on the outskirts of Dakar that took place on December 1st, 1944. First, it aims at documenting the event that, sixty years after, remains a controversial issue among the historians. Secondly, this thesis aims at analysing both the past and current use of this tragedy in different periods of time-scales. As a consequence, it helps to read the path of the post-colonial senegalese nation through the use of historical referents. This work dealing with the history of Thiaroye massacre is based on more than sixty interviews, the analysis of the works of art representing the event, different kind of archives (colonial sources and press journals published since 1945 until today), and the ethnographic investigation (for instance among the college students). The representation of the December 1st 1944 is currently one of the paradigms of the colonial memory in Senegal. By trying to describe the use of the past during more than sixty years, it is possible to consider the links between the dominant memory – official as well as unofficial – or the specific forms of remembrance and the role of this past in the some identity dynamics.

Keyphrases: Tirailleurs sénégalais, Mémoire collective, Sénégal, Postcolonialisme, Tirailleurs sénégalais, colonial repression, honour, collective memory, Senegal, interdisciplinarity, postcolonialism
Les centres de travailleurs : un moyen d’élargir le champ d’action syndical? : études de cas

The labor market is undergoing major changes. The north-american model of union organization seems to not allow the labor movement to respond effectively to these changes, which have contributed to the development of several union renewal initiatives. To evaluate the impacts of union renewal initiatives, we have developped a model based on the concept of union zone (Haiven 2003, 2006). We had to determine the factors defining the union zone, as the litterature was silent about that subject. Using at first the theory of the determinants of the union density (Schnabel, 2003), we have integrated elements of the theory of union power resources (Lévesque and Murray, 2010) to the model to consider the internal factors for the unions that can influence the union zone. The integration of these three theories in one unified model constitute a significant theoritical innovation. The model was applied to two workers centers : the Vermont Workers Center and the St-Rémi Workers Center. In both cases, these union renewal initiatives have enlarged the union zone. On the other side, the Vermont center applies the principles of community unionism, seeking to develop leadership among its members (Cranford and Ladd, 2003), while the St-Rémi center applies the principles of mobilization unionism, in which leadership is exercised rather by union organizers (Camfield, 2007). This difference and their different mandates made the impacts in the two studied cases different. Further studies are needed to improve the proposed model. It remains a tool that can be useful for researchers or unions who want to evaluate the impacts of union initiatives or practices and, eventually, increase the influence of the labor movement on the labor market and society.

Keyphrases: workers center, union renewal, union power, union density, union zone, atypical workers, unions, trade union, labor movement, migrant workers
¿Cómo se conserva una lengua de herencia? El caso del español en Montreal

Why is it that in multilingual societies some children are able to speak the language of their immigrant parents while other children are not? We consider this question to be particularly pertinent in the Canadian multilingual and multicultural context, and more specifically, in the city of Montreal, home to the highest proportion Latin Americans in all of Canada (Pato 2010: 1).  The main objective of this research is to contribute new data on the transmission of Spanish as a heritage language in Montreal, a topic that to our knowledge has yet to be researched. In order to better understand this intergenerational phenomenon, two generational groups (parents and their children), each with eight members, were studied.  The data collected through questionnaires and sociolinguistic interviews offer an answer to the following research questions: (1) What are the factors that have the most influence in the maintenance of Spanish as a heritage language in Montreal? (2) What are the attitudes of parents and children towards the maintenance/loss of their heritage language? (3) What type of strategies do parents have to ensure and maintain the use of Spanish in their home? (4) What role does the bilingualism factor (French – English) play in the maintenance and loss of Spanish in Montreal? The analysis of our data reveals that the five most influential factors in the maintenance of Spanish in Montreal are: (i) exposure to the language; (ii) the use of formal language; (iii) motivation; (iv) contact with family members; (v) exposure to the heritage culture. Our data show that the families studied have a strong positive attitude towards the maintenance of their heritage language. We do not have evidence suggesting that the implementation of an explicit language “policy” or “rule” for the use of Spanish in the home contributes to its maintenance, as some have suggested. Finally, the data reveal that, contrary to our initial hypothesis, the French-English bilingual context particular to Montreal does not appear to have any substantial impact or influence on the maintenance or loss of Spanish in Montreal.

Keyphrases: Heritage language, Language maintenance, Language loss, Bilingualism, Spanish as a heritage language, Spanish in Montreal
La gestion des forêts royales en Normandie à la fin du Moyen Âge : étude du Coutumier d’Hector de Chartres

At the beginning of the XVth century, domanial forests became a major issue in the affairs of the kingdom of France. Managed by the Waters and Forests administration, they were put under close surveillance by the king’s decree. The study of Hector de Chartres’ customary, a XVth century register containing the customs of hundreds of users of Charles VI’s norman domain’s forests, reveals the place that they held in France at the end of the Middle Ages. It shows first that they were not only important in the province’s economic life but that they also played a major role in its urban and rural life. It also shows, with the analysis of a XIVth and XVth century corpus of royal ordonnances, how they were important for the king, who took there the ressources he needed to build a navy and maintain his fortresses in Normandy and who benefited from the users’ royalties. Thus, a complex relation which greatly benefited the two parties was created through a complex system of customs and royalties. By trying to protect these benefits, the kings of France tried to manage adequately their forests, establishing the bases of sustainable forestry oriented towards the conservation of forest ressources and acting as gardians of the kingdom’s common good.

Keyphrases: Hector de Chartres, Gestion durable, Waters and forests administration, Normandy, Forest, Reformation, Customs, Sustainable management