NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Étude génétique et biologique de la différenciation et de la maturation des cellules NK

Natural Killer (NK) cells, a subset of lymphocytes, are crucial in innate immunity due to their direct cytotoxicity towards tumors, viral infected cells and stressed cells. NK cells also contribute to the orchestration of the adaptive response by their ability to produce immunoregulatory cytokines. To develop those effector functions, NK cells require the integration of multiple signals. As of now, mature NK cells (mNK) can be separated into a four-stage model of functional maturation that concords with a polarization either toward proliferation and cytokine production or cytotoxic functional properties. In autoimmune diseases, like type 1 diabetes (T1D), a block in their maturation, and consequently an impaired functionality and diminished numbers, can be observed. Thus, in order to uncover the genetic regulation behind the proportion and functional maturation of NK cells, a linkage analysis was performed by our lab on F2 (B10.BR x NOD.H2k) and F2.Rag (B6.Rag1-/- x NOD.Rag1-/- intercross) mice, where the NOD genetic background is a model of T1D. This analysis revealed loci that were potentially involved in the regulation of mNK cells proportion, absolute numbers or functional maturation. Loci on chromosomes 8, 9 and 17 were linked to the proportion of mNK cells while loci on chromosomes 2, 4, 7, 10, 11 and 18 were linked to different subsets of functional mNK cells. Hence, we validated the influence of the chromosome 9 locus on the proportion of mNK cells by generating congenic sub-strains of mice with insertion of B10.BR genetic segments and NOD genetic background. The proportion and absolute numbers of mNK cells were assessed by flow cytometry and compared to those of wild-type mice. Regarding the functional maturation of mNK cells, we considered potential candidate genes, and their upstream regulators, that were linked to one or more mNK subsets, namely Tbx21, Zeb2, Myb, Trp53 and Pmaip1. From those, we also looked further their associated pathway with proteins such as Bim and Eomesodermin. We proceeded to the in vivo validation of their implication by qPCR, proliferation and apoptosis assays and the use of knock-out mice. Indeed, our results support a role for a locus on chromosome 9 in the regulation of mNK cells proportion and for Trp53, Bim and Pmaip1 in NK cell functional maturation. As such, our study has revealed new candidate genes in NK cell regulation. Further explorations of the mechanisms by which those genes act could lead to the development of cellular and genetic therapies for cancers and chronic infections.

Keyphrases: Natural Killer cells, Immunogenetics, Linkage analysis, Cellular proportion, Functional maturation, Differentiation pathway
Études narratologiques des jeux vidéo à partir de Final Fantasy VI, Street Fighter II : The World Warrior et Gradius III

Building on the reception theory, this dissertation examines whether individuals can participate in a storytelling experience through video gameplay. The study analyzes player experience according to three dimensions: fictionality, narrativity, and narration. The study establishes four common experiences between video game play and the experience of reading. First, it demonstrates that players and readers follow the same cognitive pathways to understand fiction. Second, the study shows that the act of reading and game play both create alternate spatial-temporal settings within the real world. Third, analyses of video games narrative structures demonstrate they create open structures within which players may act. Fourth, the study demonstrates the presence of a narrator responsible for communication during active and passive gameplay has a similar effect to that of a literary narrator.

Keyphrases: Narration, Narration, Narrativity, Fictionality, Reading, Videogame, Reception Theory
Towards deep semi supervised learning

Deep Learning is a quickly growing area of research in the field of Artificial Intelligence that has achieved impressive results in the last decade in various Machine Learning applications. Unsupervised learning for pre-training layers of neural networks was an essential part of the first wave of deep learning methods. A natural next step is to investigate ideas that could combine both unsupervised and supervised learning.  The Ladder Network is a recently proposed semi-supervised architecture that adds an unsupervised component to the supervised learning objective of a deep network. The model can be seen as part of a deep stack of denoising autoencoders or DAEs that learns to reconstruct each layer. At each layer, the reconstruction is done based on a corrupted version of the current layer, using feedback from the upper layer.  This thesis undertakes a systematic analysis and deconstruction of the Ladder Network, investigating which components lead to its excellent performance. We analyze nineteen different variants of the architecture derived by isolating one component of the model at a time.  In Chapters 1 and 2, we introduce fundamentals of artificial neural networks, the gradient-based way of training them and their application in representation learning. We also introduce deep supervised and unsupervised learning and discuss the possible ways of combining them.  In Chapters 3 and 4, we provide a thorough comparison of a large number of variants of the Ladder Network controlling both hyperparameter settings and data set selection. Through our investigation, we discover some general properties of the model that distinguish it from standard feedforward networks.  Finally, we introduce a variant of the Ladder Network that yields to state-of-the-art results for the Permutation-Invariant MNIST classification task in both semi- and fully- supervised settings.

Keyphrases: Neural networks, Machine learning, Deep learning, Representation learning, Unsupervised learning, Supervised learning, Semi-supervised learning, Model regularization
Construire la guerre totale par l'image au Canada (1914-1918) : acceptation différenciée d'un discours de guerre « totalisé »

Ranging from contemporaries to observers of the XX and XIX centuries, the First World War is a part of human history difficult to portray that many have described as a “total war”. This concept, which is often employed as a synonym for a war of extreme intensity, is generally perceived from a material angle. In other words, it involves an all-out mobilisation of human, financial, and material resources. As part of this research, I focus on the intention to completely destroy the enemy at the risk of destroying oneself in the process. After all, why would actors think it logical to risk self-destruction in the war? Above all, this struggle needs to be perceived as logical, which would make it necessary for their own survival; it could even be perceived as desirable because it presages a better future.  For this reason, the study of the Canadian case is quite instructive because this British dominion, without objectively being threatened with destruction, has participated in a war effort in a way comparable to Western European states. Hence, understanding the concept of Canadian “total war” of 1914-1918 can enable us to better understand total war efforts of other countries and other conflicts. In this dissertation, I propose a twofold discursive analysis based on images of war—drawings, caricatures, and posters. In the first part, a new “vocabulary” of total war common to the Allies and comprised of myths, images and key words geared to the articulation of a common war language is created in the in the international arena. In the second part, Canada adopts this language, albeit in a differentiated form, for political, ethno-linguistic cultural, and many other reasons. The dynamic of identity creation is borrowed from abroad (“Us”, the Allies against “Them”, the enemies of civilisation) and is transposed to the national level, culminating during the elections of December 1917.  By observing how Canada reacted to the resulting stress of the total war effort of the Allies, it is possible to develop an alternative observation of political and social struggles of the Dominion at war that runs counter to traditional historiographies. I propose a portrait of Canadian society where identity, ideas, gender, and a sense of belonging to the Canadian community do not depend on one’s ethnicity, but rather on whether or not one supports the objectives of the total war put forth by the Allies. In brief, the sense of belonging to an international community of ideas at war—the Allies—, according to this analysis, is the guiding principle for nationalist Canadian actors.

Keyphrases: Canada, Propagande, Total war, War posters, First World War, Great War, French Canada, English Canada, Identity, Propaganda, Canadian imperialism
De la Beat Generation au beatnik : la massification d’une contreculture souterraine par la presse écrite, 1945-1965

In the New York underground scene of the 1940s, the Beat Generation earns its name as well as its countercultural essence thanks to the union between the avant-garde literary pursuit and the unconventional lifestyle that its inspirers spontaneously create. The sensibility proclaimed by the Beats from the very beginning – their desire for spiritual liberation – builds up in the middle of the American Century, between the nuclear threat of the Cold War and the hipster activity exalted by jazz. Nevertheless, a decade after this period leading to the publication of Howl and Other Poems (1956) by Allen Ginsberg and of On the Road (1957) by Jack Kerouac, a new social figure enters the orbit of the Beat Generation : the Beatnik. Conceived by a journalist, the neologism reflects the stereotypes attributed to the movement, soon subdued by the forces of consumer society. This master’s thesis focuses on the insertion of counterculture into mass culture, while noting the key role played by the written press. Beyond the proverbial harshness of the critics acknowledged by the historiography, this study argues that newspapers and magazines, in opening the field of representations associated with the Beat Generation, participate in the arrival of the Beatnik, also echoed in other media. In the end, the meaning of counterculture depends on both its founding ideas and the pressure mass culture exerts on it; the junction of these two antagonistic elements reinforces the historical importance of the Beat Generation as a social movement in the United States.

Keyphrases: Beat Generation, beat, beatnik, counterculture, mass culture, media
Étude des mécanismes d'entrée en sénescence suite à une dysfonction de la chromatine télomérique

Replicative senescence is the physiological permanent growth arrest caused by telomeres shortening, at each round of replication. Once they have reach a critical length, the telomeres lose their t-loop structure, revealing the chromosome extremity that triggers a p53-dependant DNA damage response (DDR) and leads to proliferation arrest. The number of shortened telomeres that are necessary to onset senescence is not known, but accumulating evidences suggest that the cell is able to tolerate a certain level of telomere uncapping before stopping its divisions. Here, we used an inducible dominant negative form of Tin2 (Tin2DN), a member of the shelterin complex that stabilizes the t-loop, to show that telomeres uncapping alone is not sufficient to induce a stable growth arrest. When expressed, Tin2DN leads to the openingverture of the t-loop, creating a DDR with the formation of 53BP1 DNA damage foci (DDF) and a transient growth arrest. Indeed, we observed that the cells were re-entering the cell cycle and dividing, despite their uncapped DDF harbouring telomeres. As telomere uncapping creates chromosome fusions, such division leads to the apparition of secondary DNA breaks, with an accumulation of genomic instabilities, such as chromosomes bridges or micronuclei. We observed that Tin2 DN-induced telomere uncapping leads to a very weak activation of p53 and p21, with almost no phosphorylation of chkChk2. Nevertheless, when we infected our cells with a shp53, the primary growth arrest did not occur, leading to an amplification of the damages, with strong signs of instability and mitotic catastrophe. Altogether, these results propose a new model for replicative senescence: telomere uncapping induces a weak DDR that leads to a transitory growth arrest. The cells divide with fused chromosomes, creating new randomly distributed double strand breaks that trigger a stronger DDR and a permanent growth arrest. In that model, replicative senescence is not directly induced by telomere uncapping, but by an amplification of DNA damages through mitotic catastrophe.

Keyphrases: Cancer, Chromatine, Tin2, Aging, DNA Damage Response, DNA repair, Genomic Instability, Mitotic catastrophe, Replicative senescence, shelterin complex, Telomeres, Telosome
Fiancée par correspondance ou mariage interculturel? Points de vue de femmes thaïlandaises

New technologies, such as Internet, allow us to obtain anything we desire almost immediately by a simple click. They provide a novel platform for encounters, new meeting spaces for people wishing to find a marriage partner through Internet correspondence and provide a flourishing business to agencies specialized in this type of union. These countless web sites allow foreign men to meet women from every part of the world. Southeast Asian women are particularly popular among these men. A number of studies have demonstrated that the economic difficulties of countries in this region play an important role in the women’s decision to call upon these agencies in order to marry and to emigrate. In Southeast Asia, Thailand differentiates itself by its regional economic success and by its matrilineal tradition. In light of this, what induces Thai women to look for a husband abroad? I will attempt to answer this question by examining the influences of the following factors: social hierarchy (ethnic and regional); economic factors (social class); matrilinearity, local conception of love, sex and marriage and, finally, the importance of each woman’s personal path to determine which factors influence their choice of marrying a foreigner.

Keyphrases: prostitution, mariage interculturel, Thailand, Mail Order Bride, marriage migration, prostitution, cross-cultural relationships, Thai women, Agency
L’expérience coloniale anglaise et les relations interculturelles au Québec

Quebecers are now struggling with the presence of new immigrants in the province which many identified as an « identity crisis ». From 2006 onwards, many debates on the question were widely broadcasted in the media and extensively discussed within academia and NGOs, ultimately affecting the political sphere. Those debates revealed a constant nervousness of the French Canadian population of Quebec that immigrants were invading the province, refusing to adopt Quebec’s unique culture, leaving them as a marginalized alienated community on their own territory. This fear seems to have its origins in the British colonial era of the 18th century, then transformed into the modern nationalist movement that reemerged in the middle of the 20th century. A question then arises : What are the effects of the British colonial era on the way Quebecers understand and interact with immigrants ? We argue that it resulted in an unconscious cultural reflex, maintained by a lack of historical consciousness, to protect itself from potential new invaders influencing the mechanisms of how Quebecers understand the Other. As understanding has great effects on action, this view ultimately affected intercultural relations and interactions. Through interviews with Quebec’s French Canadians and immigrants, we showed the influence of that fear in understanding and discourse and explored how immigrants react to Quebec’s situation.

Keyphrases: Immigration, Intercultural relations, Quebec, History, Colonialism, Nationalism, National identity, Interactions, Understanding, Hermeneutics
Peut-on dissocier consommation d’énergie et bien-être dans le cadre du logement ?

This article provides some ideas for exploring the relationship between energy This article provides some ideas to explore the relations between reduction of energy consumption and well-being from a typology of consumers elaborated in a rental social housing project object of thermal retrofit program. The capability approach in terms of analysis for an orientation either favorable or unfavorable to reduction energy consumption comes in coherence with the difference of type and enriches it by exceeding the contradiction enter on one hand social vulnerability and well-being disparities and on the other hand imperative reduction in energy consumption.

Keyphrases: philosophy, ethics, economics, Capability approach, Classification, Energy consumption, Sustainable development, Typology, philosophy, ethics, economics
The Alliance Approach to Innovation: Agro- ecological innovations, Alliance, and Agency

Agro-ecological innovations aim at promoting sustainable agricultural practices that have long term benefits. However, farmers rarely adopt beneficial innovations in agro-ecology despite expressing an understanding of the benefits and a desire to do so. It has been argued that the farmers lack sufficient knowledge to implement complex innovations. We believe that in many cases such knowledge is necessary, but is ultimately insufficient for complex innovation adoption. We argue that in addition to knowledge and a desire to adopt an innovation, many farmers require a collaborative relation with an ally. We call this method the Alliance Approach to innovation. This approach is modeled after the therapeutic Alliance Approach at work in cognitive and behavioral sciences. We argue that using the Alliance Approach will not only prove effective in helping farmers adopt complex agro-ecology innovations, but also a better fit for the human centered development of capability approach human development, as it is likely to enhance both the well-being and agency of the farmers.

Keyphrases: philosophy, ethics, economics, Agency, Agro-ecology, Alliance Approach, Capability Approach, Human Dignity, Innovation, Soft Paternalism, philosophy, ethics, economics, Agro-écologie, Alliance, Innovation, Soft paternalism.
Responsabilité sociale d’entreprise et identité du dirigeant : une réflexion sur les petits entrepreneurs en Afrique

This article applies the responsibility of the person to the case of small entreprises in Africa. The notion of identity is central to the analysis. Indeed it enables to understand that community involvement of managers is not primarily a strategic behavior but rather a way to be coherent with their practical identity. Senegal is an example of this. However this social responsibility of the person is different from social responsibility of large companies. It is therefore necessary to look at the consequences of social responsibility standards on the weakening of small entreprises.

Keyphrases: philosophy, ethics, economics, Africa, entreprise, identity, corporate social responsibility, Senegal, philosophy, ethics, economics, entreprise
Un modèle didactique de littérature de vulgarisation scientifique destinée à de jeunes lecteurs

Nowadays, different literary resources of popular science, including children's literature, are used to address the scientific content in elementary classrooms. Without trying to replace textbooks, these non-formal educational tools offer different narrative and informative texts that present demonstrations of science. In addition to developing scientific curiosity, children's trade books propose scientific texts of high quality. However, these texts would not be without some level of weakness. In particular, they sometimes present erroneous concepts leading to misconceptions. To support the science writers in the popular science resource development suited to alternative conceptions of young learners, and ultimately to get them to change these conceptions, we identified a didactic text designed primarily for classroom work called refutation text. To promote conceptual change, the text first sets out an alternative design, refutes the alternative conception, and then presents scientific explanation. After the analysis of three refutation texts, we were able to identify some didactic concepts at the heart of this text pattern; the concept map, the learner’s knowledge level, and didactic transposition. Inspired by these concepts, we have developed a didactic model of popular science to accompany a science writer, step by step, in the design of appropriate resources for young readers. The Design Experiment model has allowed us to test and improve this experimental model of popular science through the participation of two science writers who each developed two popular science texts. One writer composed two narrative texts, another wrote two informative texts for a group of 83 students in fifth grade. Topics covered in these texts were white sharks, beluga whales, and muscles and training. To study the evolution of student conception, each answered pre-test and post-test questions and some students were also asked to participate in group interviews with the science writers. This research brought together didactics and popular science. Science writers were able to measure the relevance of taking into account the views of young readers’ conceptions, the use of refutation text, and the adaptation of the texts to learner’s knowledge level.

Keyphrases: popular science, alternative conception, refutation text, trade book, didactic model, science writer, informative text, narrative text
La rétroaction corrective à l’écrit et la révision des apprenants de français langue seconde

Corrective feedback (CF) is defined as “an indication to a learner that his or her use of the target language is correct” (Lightbown and Spada, 2006, p.197). When the written product is revised, the learner reacts to corrective feedback in different ways. This study focuses on two aspects: it focuses on the various CF techniques used by teachers of French as a second language in six ‘accueil’ classrooms in Montreal, and it focuses on the reaction of 64 students in these classrooms, to these techniques in their revision process. How the teacher’s corrective feedback was incorporated in the revision process varied according to the student’s proficiency level (weak or strong), their grade level (elementary or secondary), their learning difficulties, their error types and the CF techniques used. The student’s written product, composed of 150 words, was analyzed. The results indicate that the teachers of French as a second language vary their CF techniques according to the variables. Corrective Feedback, overall, effected the student’s revision.

Keyphrases: Revision, Feedback, Proficiency levels, Error types, Learning difficulties, Second language