NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
L’influence des caractéristiques organisationnelles de la première ligne médicale sur l’auto-soins en maladies chroniques au Québec

For effective chronic care, primary health care (PHC) organisations need to support the active engagement of patients in managing their condition. Since few studies have examined how organisational factors influence with patients’ ability for chronic illness self-management in the context of primary care, the primary objective of this research was to explore how PHC organisational attributes are associated with patients’ perceived ability for chronic illness self-management.  To attain this goal, a sample of 776 adults living with a chronic illness was recruited in 33 PHC settings that had responded to an organisational survey. They were administered a questionnaire on  self-efficacy for managing chronic disease at 0, 6 and 12 months.  Three-level regression models measured the link between selected organisational PHC characteristics and patients’ perceived ability to manage their primary illness. Our results show that organisational factors exert little influence on patient’s confidence for chronic illness self-management compared to individual attributes, and that self-management support appears low in all primary care organisations regardless of their characteristics. None of the organisational attributes was significantly associated with self-efficacy after adjusting for the lower level variables, but significant bivariate relationships were observed. These results suggest that every type of PHC organisation should make explicit efforts to improve self-management support and that the presence of facilitating elements in their organisational configuration may not spontaneously translate into better provision of chronic disease self-management support and education.

Keyphrases: Chronic Disease, Self-Management, Primary Care, Organizational Characteristics, Multilevel Modeling
La résolution de conflits en milieu tribal au Proche-Orient (solha) : d'une pratique arabe traditionnelle à des principes universels

The sulha (“reconciliation” in Arabic) is a thousand years old conflict resolution method used in the near east tribal world. Far beyond a simple mediation, its objective is a solid reconstruction of the destroyed social network. Habilitated to deal with all kinds of conflicts, from simple penal cases to long lasting vendettas, the sulha process has proven its usefulness in very different social milieu. The most evident reason for this success has been its dual composition: fundamental principles that seem universal (forgiveness, social reinsertion of the guilty, satisfaction of the victims, etc.) and adaptive rituals that fit into people’s customs.  This thesis seeks to enrich our knowledge and means in terms of conflict resolution by trying to reveal the mechanisms that make this method so efficient. The main objective is to compose a basic theoretical model of the sulha that would open a reflection about the possibility of transposing this model to new intervention contexts.

Keyphrases: Médiation, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Sulha, Conflict resolution, Mediation, Near-East, Middle East, Tribes, Rituals, Lebanon, Forgiveness, ADR, Reconciliation
Étude des voies d’internalisation de l’entérotoxine STb d’Escherichia coli
dans des lignées cellulaires

Heat-stable enterotoxin b (STb) is one of the toxins produced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and its role in swine post-weaning diarrhea is well established. Internalization of STb in intestinal human and rat epithelial cells has been shown by previous studies. However, the uptake mechanism is still not fully understood, especially in porcine jejunum epithelium, the in vivo STb target. Using flow cytometry, we studied internalization of fluorescently-labelled STb in porcine epithelial intestinal IPEC-J2 and murine fibroblast NIH3T3 cell lines. Our results revealed that STb is internalized in both cell lines. Toxin uptake is not dependent on the temperature in IPEC-J2 cells, whereas it is in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Actin reorganization is only required for STb internalization in NIH3T3 cells. However, membrane sulfatide, the toxin receptor, is similarly present in both cell lines and similarly internalized with time at 37°C. Disruption of lipid rafts, known to contain sulfatide, with inhibitors (methyl-βcyclodextrin or genistein), did not affect toxin uptake in both cell lines. Altogether, these data indicate that STb internalization mechanisms are cell-type dependent. Moreover, uptake can depend on host cell activity or not. Sulfatide, the toxin receptor, is not directly involved in these mechanisms. Uptake independent on cell activity occurs in porcine intestinal epithelium. The cell activity-dependent uptake suggests an endocytosis, which requires actin rearrangement and is not mediated by lipid rafts. STb internalization is therefore a complex process varying upon cell type, which should preferentially be studied in cellular models representative of in vivo conditions, such as porcine cell lines.

Keyphrases: Escherichia coli, Sulfatide, Lipid rafts, Escherichia coli, STb enterotoxin, Internalization, Cell type, Sulfatide, Lipid rafts
Integrated Management of Interface Power (IMIP) Framework

The large availability of wireless networks of different ranges, has contributed to the development of new generation of handheld devices with multi-radio interfaces. Thus, the end-users are able to achieve ubiquitous and seamless connectivity across heterogeneous wireless networks (e.g., Wi-Fi [1], WiMAX [2] and 3G_LTE [3]). However, a mobile node with multi-radio interfaces has its battery energy consumed rapidly, which reduces the operation/usage time of the device. To improve battery usage, wireless network standards have defined (individually) different interface states (transmit, receive, idle, sleep, etc.); when an interface is not transmitting or receiving, it goes to sleep/idle state where energy consumption is very low compared to transmit and receive states. However, in the case of multi-radio handheld devices, the total energy consumed by the interfaces in sleep/idle state is significant. Thus, equipping a mobile device with multiple interfaces increases its seamless connectivity but reduces its operation/usage longevity.  To overcome this inconvenient, we proposed a framework, called IMIP (Integrated Management of Interface Power) that consists of an extension of MIH (Media Independent Handover) IEEE 802.21 standard [4]. IMIP allows a better power management of radio interfaces of a multi-radio mobile node; indeed, it reduces considerably energy consumption.  The basic idea behind IMIP is to shut down any interface in idle mode and use a proxy that emulates the interface; the proxy wakes up the interface when it receives a connection request directed to this interface. IMIP requires at least one interface in active mode. Experiments show that using IMIP enables a saving of up to 80% of power consumption compared with existing power management standards. Thus, IMIP allows longer usage of multiple  interface devices thanks to its effective energy management.

Keyphrases: Multi-Radio Power Management, Mode Idle/Active, Idle/Active mode, Proxy, Proxy, Proxied interface, Services MIH, MIH services, Proxy entity, Location update, Proxied Multi-Radio Interface
Dynamique du jeu des élites : rôle de l'élite syrienne dans l'arrivée du parti Baas au pouvoir (1941-1963)

On March 8, 1963, a coup in Syria allows a marginalized minority sect, of radical and revolutionary ideologies within the Baath Party, to conquer the reins of State with military support; and to stay in power ever since. Thus, Syria -the first Arab country to experience the pluralist parliamentary system since 1919, will be subject to a military and authoritarian regime for almost half a century.  This thesis aims to explain how this minority faction took advantage of the circumstances and the windows of political opportunity that have opened because of the weakness of the traditional elite in power since the French mandate, due to its fragmentation that led to its isolation and illegitimacy in the eyes of people. This fragmentation manifested by internal unrests, has resulted in contradicting decisions, conflicts of interests and division of nature in identity, generational, social, economical, military and political aspects –all at once.  Hence, since its independence in 1941, Syria was a victim of its elites’ game -a game this thesis is devoted to study its dynamics. The study that defines the concept of elite theory, while focusing on the state of relation between the elites and the extent and patterns of their circulation, in order to confirm that a weakened fragmented elite, loses its legitimacy and leads the society to instability. This supports the main hypothesis of the study that the fragmentation of traditional Syrian elite has opened windows of opportunities that the Baath Party, a radical minority, was able to seize power through.

Keyphrases: Fragmentation, Elite, Political elite, Syrian traditional elite, Syria, Fragmented elite, Window of opportunity, Baath Party, Ba'ath
Étude de la diversité génétique d’isolats québécois de Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae provenant d’infections simples ou mixtes et caractérisation de leur sensibilité aux antimicrobiens

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia, is present in swine herds worldwide. However, little is known about the prevalence of this microorganism in Quebec and Canadian herds. A total of 160 swine lungs with lesions suggestive of enzootic pneumonia were recovered from two slaughterhouses. They were cultured and tested by PCR for M. hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis and for the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), the influenza virus, and the porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). Samples were also cultured for other commonly encountered swine pathogenic bacteria. Ninety percent of the samples were positive for M. hyopneumoniae (Real-time PCR) whereas 5.6% were positive only for M. hyorhinis (PCR). The concentration of M. hyopneumoniae in these positive samples varied between 1.17 x 105 and 3.37 x 109 genomes/mL Among 25 selected M. hyopneumoniae positive lungs (culture or real-time PCR), 10 demonstrated a co-infection with Pasteurella multocida, 12 with Streptococcus suis, 9 with PCV2 and 2 with the PRRS virus. Multiple loci variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA) and PCR-restriction fragments length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analyses showed a high diversity among field M. hyopneumoniae isolates. However, there seemed to be greater homogeneity within the same herd. The MLVA analysis also demonstrated that almost half of the field isolates presented less than 55% homology with the vaccine and reference strains used in our study. The absence of amplification of one locus (locus 1) of M. hyopneumoniae was significantly associated with a lower number of bacteria and a lower severity of lung lesions. All M. hyopneumoniae isolates showed low to intermediate MICs against the antimicrobials tested. Cultures with intermediate MICs for tetracyclines, macrolides and lincosamides were tested for the presence of previously described resistance genes tetM, ermB and L4, L22 and 23S rRNA point mutations. None of these genes were found, although one point mutation, G2057A, was identified. This mutation is responsible for the intrinsic resistance of M. hyopneumoniae against 14-membered macrolides. These results indicate that there is probably no acquired antimicrobial resistance within these isolates. This research provides new scientific data on M. hyopneumoniae isolates from Canada.

Keyphrases: Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, Porcine enzootic pneumonia, Genotyping, Antimicrobial resistance, Canada
Les effets du débat public dans la nouvelle ville de Montréal : regard sur le plan d'urbanisme et sa mise en oeuvre

In this master thesis, the mechanisms of public debate used to discuss the urban master plan of Montreal are analysed with a framework inspired by Simard and Fourniau (2007), which contains a serie of deliberative criterion. Public debate is used as a terminology to include diverse possible mechanisms and norms of debate and of public participation. Our discussion covers not only the formal phase of the debate (in the public hearings) but also the informal forums. We conclude that this allows for a richer procedural analysis based on a perspective of complementarity between diverse mechanisms of public debate. In the search for effects of the public debate on the urban master plan, we found a number of cases where contextual dynamics interacted with the demands of participants. These « congruences » (Offner 1993) concurred with the evolution of the planning document. This master thesis also presents interesting findings related to constraints on public debate brought about by the particular political and institutional context of Montreal. The coordination between the scale of the central city and the newly constituted boroughs had implications on the content of the debate, on procedural components as well as on its impact in the plan and the implementation phase. This suggests that studies of public debate and of public participation events should consider as an important dimension the contextual dynamics.

Keyphrases: Congruence, Public participation, Deliberation, Montreal, Territorial reform, Urban master plan, Congruence, Strategic spatial planning
Réinventer la stratégie d’affirmation de puissance dans le contexte post-Guerre froide : la réponse de la Chine à l’hégémonie américaine

This research analyzes the power strategy implemented by China in the post-cold war context characterized by an only superpower, the United States, by using offensive realism as a theoretical framework. Designated challenger of the United States, China tilted into the 21st century with an important challenge to confront. The American ascendancy continues to be an essential fact in the world political system. The United States produces more than one fourth of the total of the world economy and counts for nearly half of the military expenditures. China, for its part, with 1.3 billion inhabitants, a quasi-exponential economic growth, endowed with a conventional nuclear arsenal, is the main emerging power, with the potential to compete with the United States in world affairs. But, considering the enormous gap separating them, for China the question of the American hegemony arises under the shape of an equation, the only known variable of which is the potential of its adversary. The main problem China then faces is its ability to think of a strategy without however running a risk of provoking the only superpower of the globe. Consequently, this work analyzes the policies and the strategic actions developed by China in light of the constraints imposed by a less favorable international environment. Its main focus is how Beijing exploited with great panache one of the most redoubtable weapons of the post-cold war era, its economic power, to strengthen its ascent to the rank of major power. It contends that, taking into account a considerable delay to catch up, China began to balance the American superpower in a pragmatic way. To that purpose, it conceived a strategy which includes two main pillars: internally, economic and military reforms; externally, an aggressive and effective diplomacy in adequacy with its power ambitions. This analysis concludes that the aim of china’s strategy is to avoid for the moment every risk of direct confrontation which would have for main effect to damage its rise. However, as its power increases, it might tend to show a more aggressive posture, even if it means also engaging, with the only superpower of the world, in competitions of a security nature in Asia and beyond this region.

Keyphrases: China, United States, Offensive Realism, Grand Strategy, Economic Power, Military Power, Political Power
Alexithymie et appauvrissement onirique chez des populations cliniques souffrant de troubles du sommeil

Using a large clinical group of patients suffering from sleep disorders (N= 580) and non-clinical comparison subjects (N= 145), the first aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between alexithymia and several different sleep disorders diagnosed from polysomnography following the American Academy of Sleep Medicine classification system and using a Canadian French translation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia scale (TAS-20). The second objective was to evaluate the link between alexithymia and dream characteristics using a 14-item Dreaming Questionnaire. Results confirm a relationship between alexithymia and sleep disorders. Its prevalence was higher in the clinical than the non-clinical group and differed according to sleep disorder diagnoses. Men scored higher than women on the TAS-20 total score and on the DDF (difficulty describing feeling) and EOT (externally oriented thinking) subscales. EOT could be implicated in sleep disorders pathology as it was the only subscale for which the sleep diagnosis effect was significant in the clinical group. Concerning the second objective, TAS-20 total score correlated positively with nightmare distress and negatively with dream recall; and correlated negatively with dream meaning. TAS-20 subscales were differentially correlated with the 3 dream factors of the Dreaming Questionnaire: DIF with increased nightmare distress, DDF with decreased dream recall and EOT with decreased dream meaning. With some exceptions, these patterns were obtained for clinical and non-clinical groups and for men and women. These results suggest a consistent and replicable pattern of relationships between alexithymia and dreaming components.

Keyphrases: Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Sleep disorders, Emotion regulation, Gender differences, Dreams
Inhibition de l’absorption intestinale du glucose par les produits naturels issus de la pharmacopée traditionnelle des Cris de la Baie James

Type II diabetes and obesity are major health problems worldwide and aboriginal peoples are particularly at risk. To address this problem in Canadian native populations for whom modern pharmaceuticals are culturally misadapted, our team is testing the traditional pharmacopeia of the James Bay Cree for anti-diabetic and anti-obesity activities. More specifically, the aim of the present study was to define the effects of traditional plants on intestinal glucose absorption, an under-appreciated anti-hyperglycaemic and anti-obesity activity. Crude ethanol extracts of seventeen Boreal forest medicinal plants were examined in the Caco-2 human enterocytic cell line and compared to the competitive classical inhibitors phlorizin and phloretin. It is worth noting that the latter compounds are polyphenols that share many structural characteristics with components of several Cree plants. Thirteen of seventeen extracts were observed to significantly inhibit uptake when administered simultaneously with 3H-deoxyglucose. Inhibition was dose-dependent and, in a few cases, even surpassed that induced by a combination of the positive controls. To validate these effects in-vivo, four plant extracts were administered by intragastric gavage at 250 mg/kg to normal rats simultaneously with a 3 g/kg bolus of glucose. This resulted in a decrease in peak glycaemia by approximately 40% for two of them. These findings indicate that competitive inhibition of facilitative intestinal glucose uptake can be achieved by crude extracts of medicinal plants. Intake of the latter with meals may help control post-prandial glycaemia and reduce caloric intake in high risk populations.

Keyphrases: SGLT1, GLUT2, Caco-2/15, Type 2 diabetes, Glucose transport, SGLT1, GLUT2, Caco-2/15 cells, Medicinal   plants, Aboriginal populations, Natural health products
The relationship between fructose consumption and risk of obesity in two Aboriginal populations

Summary   The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide in recent decades in both children and adults. Different epidemiologic studies have shown that obesity has become a serious health concern in United States and Canada. It has been proved that obesity has many adverse health outcomes so it is important to identify the different causes of weight gain. It is clear that obesity is a multifactor condition and involves both genetic and environmental elements.  In this study, we focus on dietary factors, specifically the consumption of fructose that has increased in parallel to the increase in the obesity rate. The main form of fructose in the diet is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that is used principally as a sweetener in most beverages and foods in North America. It has been suggested that the intake of fructose may possibly be a contributing factor to the increased incidence of obesity. The objective of this study was to assess if there is a relationship between consumption of fructose and risk of obesity. We worked on two databases. The first database contained 24-hour recall data collected from a sample of 522 Cree adults (263 women and 259 men), divided into two age groups: people between 20 and 40 years old, and people from 40 to 60 years old. We categorized them into four body mass index (BMI) groups.  The second database contained data from two 24-hour recalls administered to 550 Inuit adults (301 women and 249 men). These adults were divided into two age groups similar to Cree and with three BMI categories. The amount of fructose per 100 grams of food consumed by these two samples was calculated and we created food composition data for both.  We also determined the main sources of fructose in these populations that was sugar sweetened beverages. Based on our results, we could not detect any relationship between consumption of fructose and an increase in BMI among Cree and Inuit adults. We considered energy intake as a potential cofounding factor and, after adjustment, we found that BMI was associated with total energy intake and not with the consumption of fructose. Since in studies that have found this association the level of fructose consumption was more than 50 grams per day but in this study, this level was lower than this limit ( from 20.6 to 45.4 g / day) , we suggest that negative effects of fructose on body weight may appear only at higher dose. Randomized clinical trials and prospective cohort studies using different levels of consumption with long term follow up could be useful. Key words: Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Obesity, and Overweight

Keyphrases: Fructose, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Obesity, Overweight, Fructose