NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Perceptions du public face à une intervention policière impliquant l’emploi de la force : analyse des principaux facteurs d’influence

Although the police have the legal power to use coercive force in their law enforcement role, this use of force, whether justified or not, is controversial. Cases of police misconduct regularly making headlines in the media, public perceptions and attitudes towards the police may be affected. Because public opinion is the foundation of police legitimacy, law enforcement organizations have an interest in maintaining positive relationships with the community they serve. The overall objective of this report is therefore to understand the reasons why an individual may perceive acceptable or unacceptable police intervention. The data obtained in this study are from group interviews with students at the University of Montréal. It was thus possible to identify the individual, contextual and situational factors that may affect their perception. In the light of the results, it is possible to observe that the situational factors relating to the context of the intervention and the state of the individual detained are variables of great importance in the evaluation of an intervention. Some contextual factors such as police knowledge, reference patterns and group influence were also considered as variables of interest.

Keyphrases: Police, Police use of force, Police intervention, Individual factors, Situational factors, Contextual factors, Public perception
Introspection créatrice et comédie humaine. Proust, Balzac et Bergson

Considering Honoré de Balzac’s place in the works of Marcel Proust, this paper wishes to establish a stylistic comparison between the author of “The Human Comedy”, and that of “In Search of Lost Time” (also translated as “Remembrance of things past”). Proust’s novel is full of Balzac’s lessons, which, however, does not mean he will not try to surpass Balzac’s undertaking, in his own way. Through the philosopher Henri Bergson, especially with his book Laughter, will be explained the aesthetic difference between Balzac’s and Proust’s writings. Proust is taking up Balzac’s major realistic project, but refracting it in the creative introspection of his hero, making “In Search of Lost Time” an all-personal human comedy.

Keyphrases: Proust, Marcel, Bergson, Henri
Valeurs, études, identité, quel rapport ?

The present master’s thesis is based on the notion of ―value‖ seen from the point of view of the relationship that every individual maintains with his or her action and, by extension, with others and with the social environment in which he or she evolves. In this context, the values tinge the relationship to studies likely to explain student identity. In this perspective, this master’s thesis establishes an analytical distinction between expressive and instrumental values. The values can be described as instrumental when they are a matter of a conception based on the relationship between means and end, whereas they are seen as expressive when they integrate ―feelings‖, or even symbols of personal achievement. This master’s thesis will study the values amongst students registered in medicine and in sociology. It can be suggested that instrumental values would be characteristic of future doctors, as opposed to student sociologists who would display expressive values. And yet, the analysis carried out within the framework of this master’s thesis demonstrates that if indeed there are differences as regards values between students of both subjects previously mentioned, they are far from being radical. In addition, we will discover that, in the school curricula examined within the context of this master’s thesis, student identity is from now on represented in terms of the school curriculum rather than in relation to a more general membership of the student status.

Keyphrases: Students, Studies, Relation to studies, Values, Student identity
Mise en place d’une nouvelle stratégie d’acquisition des
systèmes d’endoscopie flexible du CISSS des Laurentides

The management of flexible endoscopy systems is a major challenge for all Quebec hospitals offering diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy services. The incompatibility of the endoscopic technologies (endoscopes, processors and light sources) among manufacturers on the market makes the management of this equipment very complex. In addition, because of the high biomedical capital and exploitation costs associated with flexible endoscopes, effective management of their acquisition and maintenance becomes more essential. The CISSS des Laurentides is among the many institutions facing difficulties in managing their fleet of endoscopic equipment. It’s with this in mind that this project has been put in place. It enabled the development of a new strategy for an efficient acquisition and maintenance of flexible endoscopy equipment. The new strategy proposed in this report eliminates partial or complementary replacements of endoscopes in a park of endoscopes across sites. The CISSS des Laurentides is fortunate to have five hospitals performing endoscopy exams, thus totalling a large amount of endoscopes. By deploying the endoscopes in a way to obtain endoscopic parks of similar age in the same hospital, it becomes then possible to perform complete replacements of all the endoscopes, thus optimizing the management of their purchase and maintenance contract. This report explains how the new management strategy has been put in place.

Keyphrases: acquisition
A Procedure for Managing Conflict of Interest When Forming Thesis Juries

Conflicts of interest in thesis juries, when not identified and appropriately managed, can lead to an uncritical and unfair evaluations that can then undermine trust in the process and threaten academic credibility and institutional reputation. This Commentary presents and justifies the choices made in developing a practical procedure to identify and manage conflicts of interest in the formation of Masters and PhD juries in the School of Public Health (ÉSPUM) at the University of Montreal.

Keyphrases: impartialité, conflicts of interest, thesis, jury members, impartiality, critical distance, procedure
Comparaisons des exigences d’équilibre dynamique lors de la négociation de l’escalier et d’un plan incliné chez les personnes en santé

Inclined planes and stairs are current in the environment and represent a barrier for seniors and people with mobility problems. Slower progression, alteration in gait pattern likely explains the high rate of fall on these surfaces, but their effect on balance is not well known. Our objective was thus to compare the difficulty in maintaining dynamic stability during the ascent and descent of an inclined plane and stairs at natural and slow walking speed in healthy individuals. Ten young healthy participants ascended and descended an inclined plane and stairs, instrumented with force- platforms to record ground reaction forces. Whole-body kinematics was also recorded to determine balance difficulty using the stabilizing and destabilizing forces, center of mass velocity and step length. Analyses of variance were used to compare the effect of surface (inclined plane vs. stairs), direction (ascent vs. descent) and speed (natural vs. slow). The stabilizing force was higher on the inclined plane than on the stairs, with a higher velocity of the center of mass. Stabilizing force was higher and destabilizing force was lower during descent than ascent only in the inclined plane but destabilizing force was lower during ascent than descent on the stairs. Slower gait speed reduced balance difficulty on both surfaces. Step length was shorter in the stairs than on the inclined plane, and particularly during descent, and at slow gait speed. Balance difficulty was higher on the inclined plane than on the stairs and at natural speed than at slow speed. The effect of direction was opposite between surfaces with higher difficulty during descent of the inclined plane, but during ascent of the stairs. Further studies are necessary in older adults or individuals with balance deficits.

Keyphrases: Balance, inclined plane, stairs, destabilizing force, stabilizing force
The advantages of using endoscopic ultrasound in adult patients with early stage rectal cancer : a systematic review

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of death. The use of preoperative imaging in the staging of (CRC) plays a major role in the management. Endorectal ultrasound (ERUS) is a precise imaging modality to determine the depth of penetration. The data on the precision of (ERUS) to predict early stage of rectal cancer has been variable  Objectives: To conduct a systematic review, on the diagnostic performance of (ERUS) in the staging of T1 and T2 CRC.  Design: Systematic review.  Data sources: A literature search via PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid and Cochrane library.  METHODS: An initial search for systematic review articles published in the last 15 years on the diagnostic accuracy of EUS in the staging of CRC using PubMed, Cochrane library, and trip database was conducted. After finding two systematic reviews that were published in 2008 and 2009, a second search of original studies published since the systematic reviews were conducted using the same databases from 2009 to 2016. The primary studies included in the systematic reviews and the primary studies published afterwards were included in the review. Methodological quality was applied using a modified version of the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS2) tool. Terms used for search were endoscopic ultrasound, EUS, rectal cancer, histo-pathological finding, and staging.  Study selection: Inclusion criteria includes adult people diagnosed with early stage CRC, all articles in english language and must be a full manuscripts published in peer-reviews journals. Exclusion criteria includes any recurrent or metastasis cancer and children with rectal cancer. Patients who were staged preoperatively by other imaging modality (MRI or CT) and no comparison with post operative pathology.  Results: The search identified 420 articles, 97 articles were duplicate and excluded, and 232 refined articles were screened for title and abstract, reviewed. Thirty-two full text studies were assessed for eligibility, and ten published as full text and met the inclusion criteria; they were added to the articles identified in the earlier systematic reviews a total of 49 articles. Results of the evaluation of the accuracy of ERUS analyzed according to the diagnostic measures of sensitivities and specificities calculated for each study. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of EUS for stage T1 CRC was 0.84  (CI 0.75-0.91) and 0.93 (CI 0.86–0.97), and for T2 was 0.83 (CI 0.74–0.90) and 0.93(CI 0.86–0.97) respectively.  Conclusion: The range of sensitivity and specificity values suggest that EUS performs well in accurately staging T1 and T2 cancers. Further advancement in this technology will lead to an improved diagnosis, clinical decision-making, and reduce the over staging drawback.

Keyphrases: carcinome rectum, Carcinome rectum, Endorectal ultrasonography, Rectal cancer, Cancer staging, Diagnostic accuracy, Endorectal echography, Sensitivity and specificity, Rectum carcinoma, Rectum tumor, Histopathology and early staging
Développement d'un modèle murin de la maladie de Parkinson par augmentation compensatoire de l'arborisation axonale dopaminergique-nigrostriée

Dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra (SNc) are amongst the most vulnerable to neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease and its animal models. According to previous work and preliminary results in our laboratory, our present hypothesis postulates that the large axonal arborisation size of SNc neurons is a key driving factor in their vulnerability, since this characteristic is associated with increased oxidative phosphorylation levels and free radicals production. In agreement with this hypothesis, other dopaminergic populations with smaller axonal arbors better resist to experimental lesions and to the disease process in humans. The current project aims to develop a mouse model in which SNc neurons present an axonal arborisation of increased size, closer to what is encountered in humans, thus reproducing their vulnerability, which could represent an important breakthrough in the identification of new therapeutic approaches. Based on compensatory axonal sprouting of dopaminergic neurons following partial lesions, the method used was the unilateral intranigral injection of the toxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) at an early age (P5), to induce the loss of approximately 50% of SNc neurons. Immunostaining against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), an enzyme required for the synthesis of dopamine, TH signal quantification in the striatum and stereological counting of neurons allowed for the quantification of the partial lesion and demonstrated compensatory axonal sprouting at 10 and 90 days post-lesion, with our results suggesting an early compensation. To better characterize the origin of axonal sprouting, we injected an AAV viral vector encoding a fluorescent protein (EYFP) in either the SNc or the VTA of adult animals. Our results confirm the presence of nigrostriatal neurons with increased arborisation sizes following early unilateral lesion using 6-OHDA, whose increased vulnerability will be evaluated in future experiments through lesion protocols using MPTP, a toxin used to model Parkinson's disease in mice.

Keyphrases: Dopamine, 6-hydroxydopamine, Animal Model, Parkinson's disease, Animal Model, Vulnerability, Axonal Arborisation, Substantia Nigra, Ventral Tegmental Area, Compensatory Sprouting
Association entre les mouvements périodiques des jambes au cours du sommeil et l’intégrité de la matière blanche cérébrale

Periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS) are repeated and stereotyped nocturnal motor activity characterized by dorsiflexion of the toes and ankle. Recent studies showed a temporal association between PLMS and activation of the sympathetic nervous system, characterized by a repeated increase in blood pressure and heart rate. The PLMS might be involved in the genesis of cardiovascular damage and favor the occurrence of cerebral injuries via an arteriolosclerosis process. In the present study, thirty-seven healthy subjects aged between 55 and 82 years old were recorded for one night of in-laboratory polysomnography and participated to a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) session. Regression analysis were performed between the four PLMS severity variables, namely the PLMS index (PLMSI), the average time interval between PLMS, the PLMS mean duration and the number of PLMS associated with a micro-arousal (PLMS-MA) and neuroimaging variables (white matter hyperintensities, white matter structure through diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and gray matter volume through voxel-based morphometry (VBM).  Our results showed that a higher PLMSI and PLMS-ME have been associated with reductions in white matter integrity in fronto-temporo-parietal regions. Also, reduction in grey matter volume was associated with a longer time interval between PLMS in the middle frontal gyrus. Associations observed in our sample suggest that PLMS may modify the microstructure of the brain and affect cerebrovascular integrity in middle-aged and older individuals.

Keyphrases: Hypertension artérielle, Periodic leg movement during sleep, Sleep, Arteriolosclerosis, Neuroimaging, Hypertension, White matter hyperintensities, Diffusion tensor imaging, Voxel-based morphometry
Development of MRI pulse sequences for the investigation of fMRI contrasts

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important tool for the qualitative and quantitative investigation of brain physiology. The investigation of neuronal activation using this modality is made possible by the detection of concomitantly-arising hemodynamic changes in the brain’s vasculature, such as localized increases of the cerebral blood flow (CBF) or the variation of the concentration of paramagnetic deoxyhemoglobin in venous vessels. To study the formation of functional contrasts that stem from these changes in MRI, two pulse sequences were developed in this thesis to carry out experiments in blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) and perfusion functional MRI (fMRI). The first objective laid out in this work was the development of an echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence permitting the interleaved acquisition of images using gradient-echo EPI and spin-echo EPI to assess the performances of these imaging techniques in a BOLD fMRI experiment involving a visual stimulation paradigm in 4 healthy adult subjects. The second main objective of this thesis was the development of a pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (pCASL) sequence for the quantification of cerebral blood flow (CBF) at rest. This sequence was tested on 3 healthy adult subjects and compared to an externally-developed pCASL sequence to assess its performance. The results of the BOLD fMRI experiment indicated that the performance of GRE-EPI was superior to that of SE-EPI in terms of the average percent effect size and t-score associated with stimulus-driven neuronal activation. The CBF quantification experiment demonstrated the ability of the in-house pCASL sequence to compute values of CBF that are within a range of physiologically-acceptable values while remaining inferior to those computed using the externally-developed pCASL sequence. Future experiments will focus on the optimization of the sequences presented in this thesis as well as on the quantification of the pCASL sequence’s labelling efficiency.

Keyphrases: Pulse sequence design, functional MRI, Arterial spin labelling, gradient-echo and spin-echo, blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast
Le rôle des canaux potassiques dans la résolution des paramètres du syndrome de détresse respiratoire aiguë

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by alveolar-capillary barrier damage, resulting in the formation of pulmonary oedema and an exacerbated inflammatory response. Without rapid recovery of these parameters, there is a gradual development of fibrosis, leading to respiratory failure. It has been established that alveolar regeneration is a critical step for the resolution of ARDS. A better understanding of alveolar epithelial repair mechanisms is hence necessary to identify new therapies for ARDS, for which no effective treatment exist. It has been shown that repair mechanisms are regulated by membrane proteins, not only by growth factor receptors and integrins, but also by ion channels, in particular potassium channels. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to characterize the impact of KCa3.1 and KvLQT1 potassium channels modulation in the resolution of ARDS. First, our results have shown the cooperative role of the potassium channel KCa3.1, the extracellular matrix and the β1-integrin in alveolar epithelial repair processes in vitro. We have shown that the fibronectin matrix and KCa3.1 are involved in the migration and repair of primary cultures of rat alveolar cell monolayers. Our data also revealed a putative relationship between Kca3.1 and the β1-integrin. Second, we studied the impact of KvLQT1 potassium channel modulation on ARDS pathophysiological aspects with in vivo models. We showed that KvLQT1 was not only involved in alveolar epithelial repair, but also in the resolution of pulmonary oedema and inflammatory response. Taken together, our data demonstrate that potassium channels, such as KCa3.1 and KvLQT1, may be identified as potential therapeutic targets for the resolution of ARDS.

Keyphrases: KCa3.1, KvLQT1, Inflammation, Acute respiratory distress syndrome, Alveolar epithelium, Potassium channels, Epithelial repair, Pulmonary edema
Techniques de spectroscopie proche infrarouge appliquées à la quantification de paramètres hémodynamiques

This master’s thesis is separated in two phases, both focused on near infrared spectroscopy for the quantification of hemodynamic parameters. NIRS is based on the measure of absorption (μa) and scattering (μs’) coefficients of tissues in order to recover the oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin concentrations in the blood. Its results are based on the photon propagation in tissue at different near-infrared wavelengths. The first NIRS system used during my studies is a time-resolved spectroscopy system. This device allowed us to retrieve absolute hemoglobin concentrations using a headband placed over the subject’s skin and centered on their forehead. The data analysis model which we used allowed us to separate extra-cerebral and cerebral contributions of the signal. This method yielded quantitative absolute measures of cerebral oxygen saturation as opposed to the traditional homogenous model where the signal is contaminated by superficial layers. A study on cerebral hemodynamic changes in young adults during exercise was conducted, and the published article detailing its results is transcribed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 includes a review of this study and discusses potential future works. The second part of my research consisted in an industrial internship during the summer of 2016. Under the supervision of Dennis Hueber, Ph. D., and Beniamino Barbieri, Ph. D., I have worked on a NIRS device manufactured by ISS Inc., a prototype of which is currently in the laboratory of my supervisor Mathieu Dehaes, Ph. D. This device combines two NIRS modalities: frequency-domain NIRS and diffuse correlation spectroscopy. Chapter 4 details the work I have performed at ISS and the results of my research and analysis.

Keyphrases: NIRS, Brain Imaging, Near Infrared Spectroscopy, NIRS, Brain oxygenation, Cerebral, Hemoglobin, Cerebral metabolism, Cerebral blood flow, Physical exercise, Signal processing
Correlates of Long-term Immune Protection in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Exposed Non-reinfected Individuals

The majority of HCV infected individuals develop persistent viremia. Correlates of long-term protective immunity remain undefined. Generation and maintenance of polyfunctional CD4 and CD8 HCV-specific T cells that produce multiple cytokines like IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-2 correlates with spontaneous resolution of acute primary HCV and can be predictive of long-term protection. The presence of neutralizing antibodies (nAb) was associated with reduced magnitude and length of viremia upon reinfection. The aims of this project were: 1) to define correlates of protective immunity in HCV-resolved high risk people who inject drugs (PWIDs) repeatedly exposed to but resistant to reinfections; and 2) to compare protective immune responses in PWIDs with spontaneous versus treatment-induced clearance. We hypothesized that PWIDs resistant to reinfections harbor an immune response of high magnitude, breadth and quality of the HCV-specific memory T cells as well as higher nAb responses. Using IFN-γ enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT), intracellular staining for cytokines, and pseudoparticle neutralization assays, we examined cellular and humoral immune responses in long-term protected versus reinfected PWIDs. We observed long-lived HCV-specific T cell responses in spontaneously resolved and treatment resolved PWIDs who are protected against reinfection. We did not observe a difference in the nAb responses nor in the functionality of HCV-specific T cells. Our results suggest that protection from reinfection in PWIDs is associated with a sustained high frequency of HCV-specific cellular immune responses.

Keyphrases: Vaccins, Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Reinfection, Protective Immunity, Vaccines, People who inject drugs (PWIDs)