NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Les connaissances morphologiques d’élèves dyslexiques du primaire

Because of their phonological deficit causing important reading difficulties, dyslexic students are particularly at risk of school failure. Recent studies have demonstrated that morphological units contained in the words allow recognition and in addition, facilitate access to meaning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the morphological knowledge of french dyslexic students. We tested dyslexic students (n = 54) and normal readers (n = 134) by administering three tasks on the knowledge of derivational morphology to see if they treated these morphological constituents when reading. We located these three tasks on a continuum based on mental operations needed to better perceive their developmental trajectory. We finally compared the performance of dyslexics students to normal readers of the same age (n = 46) and younger students (n = 88), but the same reading level. Our results showed that all three groups of students tested had all benefited morphological units to succeed these three tasks and that the level of success goes hand in hand with the explicit nature of these tasks.

Keyphrases: dyslexie, Morphology, Dyslexia, Learning disabilities, Learning disorders, Reading
Satisfaction et perception des services alimentaires de la Commission scolaire de Montréal telles que rapportées par les élèves du troisième cycle du primaire et du secondaire

Context. Several determinants influence the dietary practices of young Quebecers. Food offered in schools and public policies are part of these influences. In 2011, the Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) published its healthy diet policy. However, since its publication, little data on the food services of the CSDM were collected.   Objectives. To assess the satisfaction and perception of third cycle of elementary school and high school students about the CSDM’s food services.   Methodology. Sixty-five elementary schools and 27 high schools were targeted by this survey. Data collection took place over a six weeks period through two online questionnaires available on the website Fluid Survey. Satisfaction and perception of the students were assessed using questions about their use of the food services, their preferences and their attitudes and opinions.   Statistical analysis. From the results, descriptive statistics were generated. Additionally, Chi-square tests were used to evaluate the association between variables.  Results. A total of 4 446 questionnaires were retained for analysis. Taste and cleanliness are the two most important aspects for third cycle elementary school and high school students. However, food variety is the most appreciated aspect in both groups. Elementary students are more likely than high school students to give importance to the healthiness of food. Moreover, younger students are more likely to choose their food in order to control their weight. The results of this study also reveal that the majority of students grant importance to the quality of their diet and have done so for some time. Finally, peers and the family seem to have little influence on children and adolescents’ food choices, especially among high school students.  Conclusion. Although several determinants remain to be studied, this study confirms the plurality of influences on children and adolescents’ feeding practices. In addition to being a valuable indicator for the evaluation of its food services, the results suggest many courses of actions for stakeholders of the CSDM.

Keyphrases: Adolescents, Satisfaction, Perception, Motivations, Lunchs, Healthy eating, Children, Adolescents, Satisfaction, Perception, Motivations, Food services, Lunches, Schools
La stabilité des réponses physiologiques face au stress psychologique telle qu’étudiée sur
une période de trois ans

It is known that stress increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality associated with these diseases. It is hypothesized that this may occur through chronically heightened physiological reactivity to or delayed recovery from stress. The long-term stability of physiological stress responses has received little attention. Objectives: To evaluate the 3-year stability of reactivity and recovery change scores across CV and autonomic parameters and assess whether sex and age moderate stability. Methodology: A total of 134 healthy participants underwent 2 laboratory stress protocols, including four 5-minute interpersonal stressors, each followed by a 5-minute recovery period. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and HR variability (HF, LF, VLF) were obtained. Spearman rank correlations and linear regressions were performed. Results: Significant test-retest correlations emerged for all physiological measures except diastolic BP recovery and VLF recovery. No significant sex or age differences in the stability of stress reactivity or recovery emerged. Conclusion: Stress responses represent stable individual traits, little affected by sex and age.

Keyphrases: stress, test-retest, physiological reactivity, physiological recovery, stability, sex
Le développement des biotechnologies cubaines de la Révolution de 1959 jusqu'au milieu des années 2000

Since the 1990s, Cuba has developed and marketed vaccines and medical biotechnology methods of which some have been the first in the world. At that time, the island was considered a developing country and had been the target of an embargo imposed by the United States for more than thirty years, as it still is now. Yet biotechnology is a costly science both in terms of material resources and in terms of highly specialized human resources, and for this reason it is usually exclusive to the world’s leading scientific countries. These successes in Cuba thus suggest the creation of a real scientific and technical potential in country, as much as they constitute an artifact in a sector that is less developed or less established than might seem to be the case. What is the true face of Cuban biotechnologies at the turn of the millennium? This is the question that this study seeks to answer. The study first retraces the parameters of the development of Cuban research institutions in biotechnology in the context of the difficult circumstances that the country has experienced since the Revolution: low socio-economic indicators, the American embargo, socialist planning, geopolitical isolation, world economic crises, and the dissolution of the Soviet bloc. The study then presents a bibliometric analysis, which offers a quantitative vision of Cuban achievements in biotechnology. In which periodicals and in which domains have Cuban researchers in biotechnology published their results? To which countries do the researchers who have collaborated with them or cited them belong? What is their place in the world? We will use these indicators and historical elements to conclude that a developed scientific and technical potential exists in Cuba at the turn of the millennium but that the Cuban sciences remain relatively poor in resources and remain constantly pressured to yield political as well as economic capital. In accordance with the socialist dialectic proper to the island, the Cuban sciences since 1959 have never constituted an end in themselves but have been a means to achieve political and social goals. This remains the case in 2006. Despite their achievements, they remain subject to the limits of socialist planning. They require independence from political concerns in order to fully exploit their potential, which is very real

Keyphrases: Biotechnologies, Cuba, Scientific policy, Scientometry, Bibliometry, Socialist countries, Agronomy, Vaccines, Agronomie
Les facteurs internes et externes ayant un impact sur le retour aux études universitaires des professionnels en transition de carrière

Purpose: In Quebec, as in the rest of Canada, the number of professionals returning to education has increased significantly. Among these professionals, a number is (are) experiencing career transition after several years of work. The objective of this research is to determine what factors do affect the returns to education of these professionals Design/methodology/approach: In total 625 students of the Faculty of continuing education of the University of Montreal were invited to answer to a 64 questions online survey. 170 answers were collected. (27.2% response rate) The data collected allowed for the creation of variables and indices of confidence, motivation, time, etc. This data was subsequently intersected with dispositional, situational, institutional and demographic information in our sample. Findings: it does appear that internal factors: confidence; motivation; and the time factor have the most impact on our sample. Practical implications: maintaining motivation and confidence appears to be key to minimizing the impact of adverse factors on professionals who decide to go back to university after spending years on the job market   Originality/value:  few studies have focused on the problems faced by professionals who opt to go back to school to prepare for career change, this study is a first step in the collection of information on a not so well known population.

Keyphrases: Formation continue, Canada, CTI-F, Bronfenbrenner U, environment, professional, career transition, lifelong education, returners, Faculty of continuing education
Le toit comme outil de régulation environnementale : le cas montréalais

This research is part of the interdisciplinary research program Ignis Mutat Res and aims to inform the world of architecture on the potential of roofs to bring effective solutions to environmental problems in a dense urban setting with high energy consumption. The need to reduce the ecological footprint of cities is now greatly present in the world of architectural and urban research, having previously demonstrated its importance. However, the reduction of the ecological footprint of cities remains a difficult global approach to quantify economically. The lack of standardized methodology maintain the studies on the subject at a perpetual exploratory stage. In this context, the research focuses on the development of a digital system to assess the horizontal roofs' potentiality as a decision making support tool for urban interventions to reduce the ecological footprint of cities, using in this case the city of Montreal. This type of roof is considered as an area of investigation in relation to concerns associated to water management and mitigation of heat islands. Moreover, this research focuses on three areas of the island of Montreal. These samples correspond to two types of urban typologies (residential versus commercial or industrial) which are dissected in order to identify imbalances between natural, referring here to green areas (gardens, parks and canopies) and mineral surfaces caused by urbanization. These balances or imbalances expressed in ratios between types of surfaces demonstrate that the roof area is broad enough to compensate for the lack of natural areas in the city. Roof greening across a sector could therefore significantly reduce the environmental issues associated with heat islands and managing runoff of rainwater. The strategy brought forward is to explore the hypothesis of a balance of 50 % of green versus a 50 % of mineral, which could contribute greatly to the empowerment of cities and the reduction of their fossil fuel dependency.

Keyphrases: ecological footprint, green roof, heat island, rainwater
Influence d’un atelier de prise de notes sur la capacité d’étudiants du collégial à restituer les idées principales d’un texte de philosophie : une vision contrastive étudiants – professeurs de philosophie

This research was conducted to determine what influence of a taking notes workshop had on college students attending their first philosophical course during their second college session was.  This intervention research was following the model of qualitative methods in intervention research in order to gather points of view of different stakeholders: college students and college teachers. College students who already completed one full college session expressed the need to receive formal training related to taking notes, even though it would require them to invest extra time and effort into their overall studies.  In addition, many college teachers also expressed their concerns regarding the quality and effectiveness of their students’ note taking. To fulfill the study, the respondents were given two equivalent texts simultaneously based on the rows the students were sitting in (first row - first text, second row - second text). The respondents were asked to read the texts, take notes, and state the main topics of these texts.  After the workshop, the order of distribution of texts has been inverted and the students were asked to complete the same task with the knowledge received. When analyzing the results, it was established that the respondents had relayed the topics in a much more appropriate order of importance after completing the workshop than before it. Most importantly, a significant improvement was observed in the usage of note-taking strategies and their steadier practical application throughout the second text the respondents had to work on.

Keyphrases: Lecture, Note taking, Reading, Writing, Reading comprehension, Note taking workshop, Teachers, College students, Postsecondary, Education
Proposition de combinaisons optimales de contractions volontaires maximales isométriques pour la normalisation de 12 muscles de l'épaule

As a means to provide information on the intensity of the muscle activity, the electromyographic (EMG) signal must be expressed as a percentage of a maximum activation value. Because of the anatomical complexity of the shoulder, no single maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) has been found to maximally activate the same muscle for a group of subjects. The objective of this study is to develop a statistical approach to determine the optimal MVICs that can maximise the activation levels for several shoulder muscles. The amplitude of the EMG signal of 12 shoulder muscles was recorded as 16 subjects performed 15 MVICs in standardised positions. A first systematic approach was used to determine the optimal 4 MVICs amongst 15 that could maximise the activation levels of 12 shoulder muscles simultaneously. The activation levels produced by these 4 MVICs were significantly higher than those produced by previous recommendations. A second approach was adopted to identify the minimum number of MVICs that were required to produce muscle activation levels that did not significantly differ from the maximum activation values. For 12 shoulder muscles, 9 MVICs were necessary to produce muscle activation levels that were representative of the maximum effort of all 16 subjects. This study proposed two novel approaches, the first of which maximised the EMG activation levels that can be produced by a fixed number of MVICs while the second approach identified the minimum number of MVICs required to produce EMG activation levels that were not significantly different from the maximum values of activation. These two approaches provided guidelines with regards to the MVICs that are necessary to normalize the EMG signals of 12 shoulder muscles while reducing the risks of underestimating the maximum capacity of each individual.

Keyphrases: Shoulder, Maximum voluntary isometric contractions, Electromyography (EMG), Normalization
La critique biblique chez Spinoza

This thesis consists in an explanation of the biblical criticism that we find in Spinoza’s Theologico-Political Treatise. This criticism addresses a specific problem: the subversion of religion in superstition. We explain this criticism in four parts. The first part explain the situation in which Spinoza affirms the necessity of a biblical criticism. This section shows that the actual critical problem is the subversion of religion. We will also explain in this part, the origin of superstition and how it may subvert religion. The second part is historical. It shows the historical context which is relevant for the biblical criticism. We see in fact that Spinoza's criticism is developed in a period of significant theological controversies. The third part describes the interpretative method of the Scripture (the historico-critical method). Finally, in the fourth section, we present Spinoza's criticism of other interpretative methods. These methods (supernatural, skeptical and dogmatic) are considered false by Spinoza. We will see that biblical criticism has a more general purpose. Indeed, biblical criticism is inseparable from the main goal of the Theologico-Political Treatise: the freedom of thought. In fact, biblical criticism is a way to achieve this goal.

Keyphrases: religion, superstition, philosophy, criticism, dogmatism, method, reason, skepticism, theology
Effets de la reprogrammation sur le gène empreinté H19 chez les équins

After fertilization, the animal genome undergoes a complex epigenetic remodeling that  dictates the growth and phenotypic signature of the animal. The development of reprogramming  methods using adult differentiated cells as the primordial genetic source has opened the door to  new  regenerative  therapies  for  animals.  Somatic  cell  nuclear  transfer  (SCNT)  and  induced  pluripotency are two techniques which aim to reprogram a cell from its adult differentiated state  to an embryonic-like pluripotency level, without impairing the expression of genes vital for the  cellular  function.  Albeit  promising,  the  mechanisms  involved  in  these  techniques  remain  only  moderately  understood.  Partial  reprogramming  is  frequently  associated  with  irregular  methylation of DNA sequences responsible for imprint regulation. These imprinted genes, mostly  studied in rodents, cattle and humans, are expressed in a monoallelic parent-specific fashion and  are vital for embryo growth. Hence, we aim to define the equine H19 imprinting control region  (ICR) in gametes, in vivo and in SCNT derived embryos, as well as in induced pluripotent stem  cells (iPSC). A CpG rich ICR was characterized upstream of the promotor using bisulfite treated  DNA sequencing. Coupled with parent-specific gene expression analysis, we confirmed that the  imprinted gene H19 is resistant to cellular reprogramming, and that partial demethylation of its  ICR does not result in biallelic expression, suggesting that equine species have rigorous imprint  maintenance during cellular reprogramming.

Keyphrases: SCNT, iPSC, H19, ICR, Epigenetics, Reprogramming, Equine
Les produits de santé naturels : les perceptions, les pratiques de consultation et les besoins de formation de nutritionnistes du Québec

Background. Natural Health Products (NHPs) are becoming an increasing interest within the population. Health professionals, including nutritionists, must keep up to date with this trend in order to properly advise users and limit the risks associated with their use. Objective. Explore Quebec’s nutritionist’s experiences, perceptions and their training needs about NHPs.  Methods. An electronic survey was administered to members of the Professional Order of Dietitians of Quebec through Fluid Survey. The 21 questions were designed to identify personal experiences, attitudes towards NHPs and towards their clientele that consume them, identify which sources of information they rely on and their training needs. Results. A total of 295 nutritionists completed the questionnaire. Among these, 93 % have already received questions on NHPs. Approximately 91 % of nutritionists admitted using or having used NHPs and at least 94 % said they recommended them. Also, 95 % of the sample would like to receive more information on NHPs. Finally, they have a positive perception as to their role regarding this subject, since 77 % indicated that the nutritionist should be a reliable source of information for NHPs. Conclusion. The major findings of our study are that Quebec’s nutritionists’ roles related to NHPs are not clearly defined. They need training on NHPs in order to be able to advise the population and, thus, form a new field of expertise for nutritionists.

Keyphrases: perceptions, nutritionists, dietary supplements, alternative medicine, Natural health products
Une étude examinant les retombées d'une programmation éducative par l'aventure sur les habiletés personnelles et sociales visant à contribuer à la prévention de l'intimidation chez de jeunes victimes potentielles

In Quebec, as elsewhere in the world, officials in the education community are increasingly concerned with the issue of bullying among young people. Several programs have been developed to help address this problem. However, few studies have examined interventions using the approach of adventure education and the outdoors. The objective of this study is to determine how socialization can be developed with youth at risk of victimization, by using this approach. This qualitative research is therefore focused on an intervention project that applied the model of the adventure sequence, to help prevent victimization in fith and sixth grade at an elementary school. The results reveal that several means - specific to this type of intervention - are effective in strengthening personal and social skills, such as: assertiveness, self-confidence and openness to others.

Keyphrases: Prévention, Adventure education, Experiential education, Social skills, Self esteem, Assertiveness, Bullying, Victimization, Prevention
Étude de la distribution de Salmonella comme un descripteur des enjeux de biosécurité dans un réseau de production: élevages et abattoir de porcs

Swine production has been the subject of numerous studies targeting Salmonella prevalence reduction on carcass at slaughter. These studies focused on the farm as a major source of contamination. Despite the numerous risk factors identified by these studies, some steps remains to be investigated in the pig primary production network. In this context, the objective of this project was to describe Salmonella presence at a pig production network interface i.e., between the farm and the slaughterhouse. For this purpose, ten farms and a slaughterhouse, all part of a network (including carriers) were selected. Thirty visits of farms, 36 truck surveys (loading and delivering) and eighteen investigations on backyard of the slaughterhouse were done during thirteen months duration of the field phases of the project. Based on the total of 738 samples, the results showed farm specific profiles with a total of 9 serotypes of Salmonella and 4 different lysotypes of S.Typhimurium. The loading dock at the farm presented 34,21% of the positive samples. Indistinguishable isolates of serotype Derby have contaminated this particular sampling site for 4 distinct farms. On the slaughterhouse backyard, Salmonella was abundantly found on all trucks pathways (67% of contamination, n=144). The existence of circumstances favorable to contamination at farm slaughterhouse interface, related to pig’s delivery, is documented. This interface represents a Salmonella reservoir hence a permanent risk of cross-contamination of the production to the slaughterhouse, but also back to the farm.

Keyphrases: Salmonella, Slaughterhouse yard, Contamination, Pig, Truck