NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Discours et politique du répertoire public de délinquants sexuels : la « Loi de Megan » au New Jersey

On July 29th 1994, Megan Kanka, a 7 year old girl from Hamilton Township in New Jersey, is kidnapped, sexually molested and killed by what will prove to be the Kanka’ front door neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas. At the time, Megan’s assailant had already been twice convicted of sex crimes. Following this tragedy, Megan’s parents fought to obtain a law that would notify the public on the identity as well as the residency of sex offenders. Less than three months later, "Megan’s Law" was ratified. A state-wide sex offender registry was thus created, for which public notification was partly available. Our study focuses on this case, as we try to understand how the construction of sexual offending as a social problem led to the specific penal response that was Megan’s Law. To accomplish this, we analyzed the political discourse and arguments inherent to the case. Eight interviews with different political actors involved in the political debate leading to the implementation of Megan’s Law were conducted. Over 150 newspaper articles and some pieces of legislation were also analyzed. Our results highlight the essential role that the sociopolitical context had on the construction of sex offending as a social problem as well as the solution to which it was linked. Analysis of this case also indicates that the problem-solution dyad was constructed in conjunction, in a uniform time frame, for which the only detectable stages were those of the narrative concerning the death of Megan and the actual development of the law. In other words, Megan’s death was only a focal point that allowed certain political actors to turn into action already widely shared concepts. The study concludes by linking Canada’s sociopolitical context to the one found in our case study, and suggests that a similar construction of the sex offender problem can easily be considered. Though nobody wishes for the occurence of an event comparable to that experienced by Megan Kanka and her family, this element appears to us as one that would propel this construction to a public arena, provided of course that a person or a group of people make the issue the topic of a public debate.

Keyphrases: surveillance, sex offender registry, Megan's Law, public notification, social control, risk society, justice policies, surveillance, political process
Le rôle des interfaces dans l’expérience de jeu vidéo : le jeu du ping-pong et son adaptation sur des plateformes numériques

The market success of Video games shows us that they have become a significant alternative for leisure and entertainment. While observing the trends one can realize that game designers tend to transpose or adapt leisure activities such as dance, playing music or sports to the context of video games which has become even more obvious with the appearance of input devices incorporating physical movement as a mode of interaction. Inspired by these different forms of leisure, video game user interfaces have considerably changed the formal aspect of play, especially in terms of interaction. In the particular case of table tennis, also known as ping-pong, there are significant differences with respect to pleasure when playing a traditional game or its virtual adaptations in form of video games. The purpose of this research is to highlight the difference in appreciation of the interaction with the Wiimote controller and a traditional ping-pong racket and discover the implications on the fun experiences of traditional table tennis and its adaptations for the Wii console. Thus, based on Juul's CLASSIC GAME MODEL (2005) and Lazzaro' model of THE FOUR FUN KEYS (2008) we compare both interaction modes, traditional game with the virtual game, in terms of formal level of the game and the notion of fun that each provides. The results obtained through observation and testing through other tools allow us to highlight the importance of interfaces and their role in the players' commitment as well as to show the limit of video games compared to their traditional counterpart.

Keyphrases: Design, Interfaces, Interaction, Design, Interfaces, Videogames, Experiences, Fun, Interaction
Classifying medication use in clinical research

Medication use data is usually collected in clinical research. Yet, no standardized method for categorizing these exists, either for sample description or for the study of medication use as a variable. The present investigation was designed to develop a simple, empirically based classification scheme for medication use categorization. We used factor analysis to reduce the number of possible medication groupings. This permitted a pattern of medication usage to emerge which appeared to characterize specific clinical constellations. To illustrate the technique’s potential, we applied this classification system to samples where sleep disorders are prominent: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Sleep Apnea. Our classification approach resulted in 5 factors that appear to cohere in a logical fashion. These were labeled: Cardiovascular / Metabolic Syndrome Medication, Symptom Relief Medication, Psychotropic Medication, Preventative Medication, and Hormonal Medication. Our findings show that medication profile varies according to clinical sample. The medication profile for participants with Sleep Apnea reflects known comorbid conditions; the medication profile associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome appears to reflect the common perception of this condition as a psychogenic disorder.

Keyphrases: Medication, Sleep, facotr analysis
TAR DNA-Binding protein 43 (TDP-43) regulates stress granule dynamics via differential regulation of G3BP and TIA-1

TDP-43 is a multifunctional protein with roles in transcription, pre-mRNA splicing, mRNA stability and transport. TDP-43 interacts with other hnRNPs, including hnRNP A2, via its C-terminus and several hnRNP family members are involved in the cellular stress response. This relationship led us to investigate the role of TDP-43 in cellular stress. Our results demonstrate that TDP-43 and hnRNP A2 are localized to stress granules, following oxidative stress, heat shock, and exposure to thapsigargin. TDP-43 contributes to both the assembly and maintenance of stress granules in response to oxidative stress and differentially regulates key stress granules components including TIA-1 and G3BP. The controlled aggregation of TIA-1 is disrupted in the absence of TDP-43. In addition, TDP-43 regulates G3BP mRNA levels, a stress granule nucleating factor. A mutation associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, TDP-43R361S, compromises stress granule formation. Thus, the cellular function of TDP-43 extends beyond splicing and places TDP-43 as a participant of the central cellular response to stress and an active player in RNA storage.

Keyphrases: TDP-43, Stress granule, hnRNP A2, G3BP, TIA-1, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Perceptions des intervenants du Nunavik sur la non-observance aux antidépresseurs

In the context of health professionals’ clinical practice, non-compliance represents overcoming an important challenge as it is pertaining to the patient’s failure to comply with the recommendations made by care providers. Social service and health care providers, given their expanded professional role as front-line workers, deal with a diversified clientele in Nunavik, which is a remote area divided into 14 inuit communities. Training, professional experience, role perception, working environment as well as sociocultural context all constitute factors having an impact on the interpretation of the various issues within the population. Inuit communities are faced with high rates of suicide, alcoholism and violence. Indeed, the prescription of antidepressants may serves as a means to relieve patient presenting depressive symptoms from their distress. How should we address this complex phenomenon happening within the particular context of an Aboriginal remote area? This exploratory descriptive research is aimed at describing and interpreting the issue of non-compliance with antidepressants, in particular by the study of the perceptions of social service and health care providers involved in the outreach intervention towards inuit patients identified as depressive. The content of the twelve semi-structured interviews was subject to an analysis which answers the following question: What are the different social service and health care providers’ perceptions towards the issue of inuit patients’ non-compliance with the use of antidepressants in Nunavik? Results help take a step back at a common phenomenon arising in the clinical practice. They highlight the complexity of patient-provider relationship, the fragility of therapeutic alliance and the importance of effective interventions made by the interdisciplinary and cross-cultural team in this clinical practice framework.

Keyphrases: Inuit, Nunavik, perceptions, antidepressant, exploratory and qualitative research, non-compliance
Évolution des discours publics des autorités de santé au Québec en matière de gestion du poids

The increase in overweight and obesity prevalence observed in Quebec as elsewhere worries governments and medical authorities. In order to contain what is described as an “obesity pandemic”, Quebec public health organisations have proposed a number of recommendations depsite the fact that long-term safety of clinical interventions have proven inefficient, and prevention strategies to manage weight undetermined. Objective: To examine the evolution of public discourses about weight management by Quebec’s public health organisations in order to identify if there is a moral standard being constructed and discuss what this reveals about modern societies. Method: Through content analysis of over 160 official documents produced by government, public health organisations and the media over the last 60 years, this thesis will describe and analyze weight management discourses of Quebec’s official health organisations. Results and Discussion: The evolution of public weight management discourses by official public health organisations can best be described using three distinct continuums which all illustrate a shift from the private domain to the public one in the way weight problems are conceptualised. These continuums are: the pathological, or the etymological evolution of meaning given to the problematic weight; surveillance, in that rational criteria has been established and surveillance is no longer in the realm of the personal but rather has become a problem of the collective and in so doing, has become institutionalised; and finally, responsibility, where weight management has migrated from the individual through to the collective and then firmly into the social domain. This analysis illustrates that the disciplinary exercise of weight management, which functions as a moralizing process, considers the increase in overweight and obesity prevalence is across the population. However, such is not the case.

Keyphrases: Alimentation, Nutrition, Weight, Problematic weight, Obesity, Overweight, Food, Nutrition, Medicine, Moralization
Évaluation des éléments facilitants et des barrières à l’implantation d’un programme d’éducation à la nutrition Camille, Antoine et l’archipel Ôlait tels que perçus par les enseignants du préscolaire

This study aims to assess the facilitating conditions and barriers to the implementation of Camille, Antoine et l’archipel Ôlait nutrition education program, develop by the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC), with preschool teachers, from six regions of Québec, who assisted a workshop delivered by a dietitian from DFC. It also seeks to know the degree of implementation and fidelity of the program and its assessment, its use and relevance. Following an average of five months of implementation, a self-administered questionnaire was completed by 37 teachers (N = 86, 43 %), 10 users (27 %) and 27 non-users (73 %). Then, focus groups were held with 13 teachers (N = 170, 8 %). On average, 11.4 out of 30 activities have been carried out (38 %), including 6.3 as planned (55 %) and 5.1 modified (45 %), and teachers reported that it intends to repeat 6.1 activities (54 %). Implementation of the program was facilitated or limited by various characteristics of teachers, the assessment of its content and its format, its relevance to the educational requirements for preschool, the reality of pupils and their parents and objectives in nutrition learning, at school, in their family and community as well as the credibility and support of the DFC. Many of those factors are both facilitating conditions and barriers. The results will help to adjust the program and guide the development and evaluation of similar programs.

Keyphrases: Process evaluation, Implementation, School-based program, Preschool, Kindergarten, Nutrition education, Teachers, Barriers, Facilitating condititons
Rôle des récepteurs glutamatergiques dans l'activité épileptiforme des interneurones inhibiteurs de l'hippocampe

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients, as well as kainic acid (KA)-treated rodents, display similar pathophysiological patterns of behavioural seizures, hippocampal sclerosis and loss of certain neuronal types in the hippocampus. Among the cell types selectively vulnerable in the experimental KA model of TLE are certain inhibitory interneurons of the CA1 hippocampal region. Specifically, interneurons located in the oriens and alveus layers (O/A-IN) are lost following KA injections, whereas interneurons found in the radiatum/lacunosum-moleculare layers (R/LM-IN) are resistant. Although it has been shown that the group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR1/5) inhibitors can block this cell loss seen in the KA model, the precise cause of the selective O/A-IN vulnerability remains to be clarified. In this thesis, we have performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings with simultaneous calcium imaging in an effort to elucidate the cause of the selective vulnerability of O/A-INs. We first determined the effects of acute KA applications on membrane properties and intracellular calcium rises in hippocampal slices to see if they might be different between O/A-INs and R/LM-INs. Our results reveal similar -amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxasole propionic acid (AMPA) receptor dependent membrane depolarizations, input resistance variations and calcium reponses in these cells following KA applications, suggesting that acute KA actions may not cause the selective vulnerability of O/A-INs. Furthermore, we evaluated the contribution of mGluR1/5 to epileptiform discharges evoked in a disinhibited slice model, comparing responses between O/A-INs and R/LM-INs. Our data show an important role of synaptically activated mGluR1/5 during epileptiform discharges specifically in O/A-INs. In addition we show that the synaptic currents underlying these discharges involve ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptors.  In the presence of antagonists of ionotropic glutamate receptors, synaptic currents are biphasic and composed of fast and slow components. mGluR1 and mGluR5 are involved differently in these components with mGluR5 implicated in fast and slow components and mGluR1 in the slow component only. Our findings therefore suggest that mGluR1 and 5 contribute differently to epileptiform discharges, and do so specifically in O/A-INs, suggesting that their activation may contribute to the selective vulnerability of these interneurons in the KA model of TLE.

Keyphrases: CA1, temporal lobe epilepsy, hippocampus, KA model, selective vulnerability, inhibitory interneurons, metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR1/5
Étude de l’état de préparation organisationnelle à la Cyber santé en réadaptation

Background: E-health presents a potential for delivering care more efficiently and effectively. Despite this, the adoption of e-health by professionals remains problematic, and as many as 70% of attempts to introduce e-health fail. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess organizational readiness for e-health among the staff of a rehabilitation centre and to identify which elements in the user profile have an impact on readiness. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 137 clinicians, 28 managers and 47 non-clinical staff in a rehabilitation centre in Montreal. All participants completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing organizational readiness for e-health. The measure contains three subscales (Individual, Organizational and Technological) with each subscale providing a score on 100. Data were also collected on the users’ profile, use of technologies and typical response to new information. Results: Generally, participants considered themselves ready to adopt e-health in their work (  = 73,8%, SD = 8,5) and they also had a favourable opinion of the technologies in place (  = 73,8%, SD = 7,2). They however perceived the centre as being only moderately ready (  = 66,6%, SD = 9,8) for e-health changes. Perceived workload and position/duties in the organization were found to have an impact on readiness for e-health. Conclusions: These results underscore the importance of addressing organizational readiness for change as a multidimensional concept. Based on these results, implementation strategies tailored to the specific profile of a rehabilitation organization were identified.

Keyphrases: Organizational change, Health Personnel, Medical Informatics, E-Health, Information and communication technologies (ICT), Organizational readiness
La conformité de l’obligation contractuelle des travailleurs agricoles de maintenir un lien fixe avec leur employeur avec l’article 46 de la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne du Québec interprétée à la lumière du droit international

Each year the province of Quebec receives an increasing number of temporary farm workers through two programs: the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (mainly Mexican workers) and the Low-Skill Temporary Workers Program (with Guatemalan workers). These programs share a common characteristic: the workers’ permits are tied to an employer. This research analyses the compliance of the bonded-work permit with article 46 of the Quebec Charter, which guarantees the right to just and reasonable working conditions. An analysis of the effects of the work-tied permit shows that it creates a huge dependence of the workers vis-à-vis their employers – legally (due to the possibility of anticipated repatriation for work or behaviour related problems), financially (among other things because of the naming practise) and mentally (submission, fear). The interpretation of article 46 in light of international human rights law shows that tied-work permits violate that provision. If the objective of the bonded characteristic of the work permit is to retain a labour force, it would be much more just and reasonable to improve working conditions rather than to enslave workers.

Keyphrases: Right to Just and Reasonable Working Conditions, Temporary Farm Workers, Tied-work Permit, Quebec Charter, International Human rights Law, Economic and Social Rights, Dependency Relationship, International Labour Organisation
Rôle d'un ajout de vitamine E alimentaire dans la prévention de la myopathie du poulet de chair

Previous studies have shown that vitamin E deficiency could lead to nutritional myopathy in broiler chickens. Vitamin E was added to a conventional commercial diet to evaluate its effect on breast and thigh muscle fibers degeneration in broiler chickens. Male chickens ROSS 308 (n = 1100) were randomly assigned to two dietary treatments (a commercial diet with 25 to 50 mg of extra vitamin E per kg of commercial diet and a commercial diet without extra vitamin E). Chickens were randomly divided into 10 pens (five replicates per treatment). Body weight and feed intake were monitored weekly. At d28, d35, d42 and d49 blood from chickens were sampled and assayed for level of vitamin E and creatine kinase (CK) activity. Both Pectoralis superficialis and Adductor magnus muscles from chickens were sampled for histological examination at d28, d42 and d49, and degenerated fibers were numbered. Plasma levels of vitamin E were higher in the supplemented group (P = 0.001), whereas activity of CK was high in both groups, but not significantly different (P = 0.20) due to strong fluctuations in CK activities within groups of these fast growing chickens. Pectoralis superficialis muscle had more damaged fibers than adductor’s in both groups. There were less degenerated fibers in pectoral muscle from d28 chickens receiving the supplemented diet. These results suggested that adding vitamin E into conventional diet increases plasma vitamin E and decreases the number of degenerated muscle fibers within pectoral muscle of young chickens. Measuring the CK activity in plasma is not sufficient for early detection of nutritional myopathy in broiler chicken’s farms.

Keyphrases: Nutritional myopathy, Muscular dystrophy, Vitamin E, Broiler chicken, Creatine kinase
Chicken infectious anemia virus vaccination induces immune disorders and viral persistency in infectious bursal disease virus-infected young chicks

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is one of the major causes of economic losses in the chicken industry. Vaccination is the main tool against the disease, and the susceptible birds should be vaccinated as soon as the maternal antibody (MA) becomes low enough to allow the vaccine to break through. Estimation of vaccination time is currently performed by Deventer formula which uses initial anti-IBDV titer and antibody half-life to predict the titer. Considering the increased growth rate of chicken in the last decades and the wide variations of MA, we have examined the effects of chick’s weight gain on MA decline and the use of weight in predicting IBD vaccination time. The virus neutralization test and ELISA results demonstrated that fast-growing birds had a faster rate of antibody decline whereas slow-growing birds demonstrated a slower rate. Based on the effect of weight-gain on maternal antibody decline, a new formula for predicting IBD vaccination time was introduced and tested. The predicted IBD vaccination time made by this weight formula showed higher correlation with the measured ELISA titers in the experiment. Chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV) is another cause of immunosuppression in chicken which is characterized by increased pathogenicity of secondary infectious agents, sub-optimal antibody responses and mortality. CIAV subclinical infections can result in immunosuppression and enhancement of pathogenicity of co-infecting agents such as infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). Effects of pathogenic CIAV and IBDV coinfection on chick’s health and immune responses are investigated in different studies. In this study, newly hatched specific pathogen free (SPF) and commercial chicks were vaccinated with CAV-VAC® (Intervet) vaccine and /or inoculated with a low-virulent Québec isolate of IBDV at 14 days post CIAV vaccination. Inoculation of the CIAV vaccinal strain at hatch resulted in subclinical infection associated with viral persistency in spleen and thymus, alteration of thymopoiesis and transient humoral response in SPF chicks. Subclinical infection, viral persistency and lack of antibody responses were also shown in CIAV inoculated commercial chicks with high MA. Infection of the low-virulent IBDV in the CIAV vaccinated SPF chicks lead to extended viral persistence of CIAV in lymphoid organs, transient immune responses to both CIAV and IBDV, and alteration of lymphocytes subpopulation in the lymphoid organs. In the coinfected commercial chicks, presence the CIAV in the lymphoid organs was controlled by MA in the first 1-2 weeks after hatch. Thereafter, the immune disorders, viral persistence and lack of humoral responses almost similar to the coinfected SPF chicks were recorded.

Keyphrases: Coinfection, CAV-VAC®, Sous-populations de lymphocyte, Chicken, Infectious bursal disease, Chicken infectious anemia virus, Coinfection, Viral persistence, Immuno-disorders, CAV-VAC®, Lymphocyte subpopulations, Maternal antibody, Vaccination time