NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
L’autoréflexion de l’énonciation filmique
du film Punch-Drunk Love

In Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Paul Thomas Anderson applies a unique creative process that reveals the very inner workings of enunciation in the film. His filmic approach functions to distance the spectator from the film and, to various degrees, challenges the spectator to question the codes that create an aesthetic of illusion. Drawing on Christian Metz’s abstract approach to enunciation, this thesis proposes to analyse the filmic enunciation of Anderson’s film. By means of this theoretical approach, we become aware that the enunciation of the film stimulates the spectator into realizing that the implied meaning of the enunciation is one that can be understood within its own self. The “who” and the “what” are no longer questions that are answered from the “outside”. The “who” is the film and the “what” resides in it. What we are observing is the self–reflexive nature of enunciation.

Keyphrases: Deixis, Filmic enunciation, Cinematographic enunciation, Deixis, Film aesthetics, Subjectivity, Metaphor
La médiation musicale. Le cas de la note de programme et de l'intervention orale

The object of this study is to explore musical popularization as an activity and a pedagogical tool. In the first place, we identified the major figures in this field from Germany, France, Great Britain, the United States, and Quebec. We also interviewed three Quebec musicologists (Pierre Vachon, Guy Marchand and Dujka Smoje) in order to better understand their professional reality. In the second place, we prepared two oral presentations and wrote program notes for five concerts given by musical societies from Montreal, namely Les Grands vents de Montréal, Clavecin en concert, Pentaèdre, Portmantô Ensemble, and Société de musique contemporaine du Québec. The program notes and oral presentations were used to test the relevance of four musical popularization models especially conceived for this study. These models each addressed one particular dimension of the works: their meaning (model A), structure (model B), historical reception (model C), and execution (model D). The listeners’ answers to questionnaires that we distributed to them prior to the performance showed that models B and C were particularly effective in enhancing their aesthetic experience.

Keyphrases: Cultural democratization, Musical popularization, Program notes, Intervention orale, Oral presentation
Role of CD4+ T cells in the regulation of the immune response against encapsulated Group B Streptococcus

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important agent of life-threatening invasive infections and remains the leading cause of neonatal sepsis to this day.  Nine serotypes have been officially described based on capsular polysaccharide (CPS) composition. Among them, capsular type III is considered one of the most virulent and frequently associated with severe invasive diseases, such as meningitis. Although extensive research has been done on the interactions between GBS type III and various cells of the innate immune system, no information is available on the regulation of the adaptive immune response against this pathogen. In particular, the role of CD4+ T cells in the immuno-pathogenesis of the infection caused by GBS has never been assessed.   In this study, three different models of murine infection were developed to evaluate activation and modulation of responding CD4+ T cells against GBS type III: ex vivo, in vivo, and in vitro.  Ex vivo analysis of total splenocytes showed that GBS induces the release of type-1 pro-inflammatory cytokines. A strong IL-10 production follows this inflammatory cascade, indicating the host effort to maintain homeostasis.  Results also indicate that T cells were actively recruited by responding innate immune cells via the release of chemotactic factors such as CXCL9, CXCL10, and CCL3.  More specifically, results obtained from isolated CD4+ T cells from ex vivo or in vivo infections showed that they actively participate in the production of IFN-γ and TNF-α, as well as IL-2, suggesting a Th1 profile of activation.  On the other hand, isolated CD4+ T cells were not main sources of IL-10. This observation suggests that this immuno-regulatory cytokine is produced mainly by cells of the spleen innate immune system of infected animals.  The CD4+ Th1 cell profile was confirmed using an in vitro model of infection.  Our results also suggest that the GBS CPS plays an immuno-modulatory role in the development of a Th1 response.     In summary, this study addresses for this first time the contribution of CD4+ T cells in IFN-γ production during GBS infection, and thus, in the development of a Th1 response. Our data further highlight the central role of this cytokine for effective control of GBS infections.

Keyphrases: CD69, IFN-γ, Ex vivo, In vivo, In vitro, Group B Streptococcus, CD4+ T cells, Capsular Polysaccharide, Cytokines, Mice, Th1 response
Nature, fiabilité et rôle des intuitions utilisées en philosophie morale contemporaine

The object of this Master’s thesis is the intuitions used in contemporary moral philosophy. Intuitions are investigated on three aspects: their nature, their reliability, and their role. Regarding the nature of intuitions, they are presented as spontaneous judgments with “prima facie” epistemic value. Regarding the reliability of intuitions, three general types of reasons to question their reliability are considered, namely, the results of certain scientific studies showing in various ways Fiabilité des intuitionstheir unreliability, studies conducted in the field of experimental philosophy which emphasize the phenomenon of intuitive disagreement, and finally, the problem of the origin of intuitions. None of these reasons is judged good enough to discredit the use of intuitions in philosophy. Regarding the role of intuitions, a distinction is drawn between two main types of usage in contemporary philosophy. On the one hand, what can be called the “standard methodology” in contemporary moral philosophy consists in the combination of thought experiments and the method of reflective equilibrium. Different ways of construing the method of reflective equilibrium are considered, and the “Wide Reflective Equilibrium” model developed by Norman Daniels is judged the most successful. On the other hand, intuitions are sometimes used in contemporary moral philosophy in the context of the theory of ethical intuitionism. The theory is defended against various objections, and it is shown to be compatible with the method of reflective equilibrium.

Keyphrases: Intuitions, Nature of intuitions, Role of intuitions, Fiabilité des intuitions, Reliability of intuitions, Ethical intuitionism, Thought experiments, Reflective equilibrium, Moral methodology, Moral epistemology, Justification morale, Moral justification
Le document technologique original dans le droit de la preuve au Québec

The adoption, in 2001, of the Act to Establish a Legal Framework for Information Technology (the Act) allowed the establishment of a legal framework facilitating the integration of Information Technology in law. More specifically in law of evidence, this allowed for the recognition of the technology-based document as evidence. In this context, it was necessary to adapt certain sections of the Civil Code of Québec and, thus, certain rules, among which the best evidence rule, set forth in Section 2860 C.C.Q. Until the Act, this rule relied on the original, a concept specific to the paper medium; consequently, it became necessary to find an equivalent for the technology-based document. This was done by Section 12 of the Act, which sets out the technology-based original’s characteristics.  We will look into this concept’s origins and rationale, before analysing Section 12 of the Act, which addresses the original in a technological form. We will then examine the reproductions’ place in the technological context, and ascertain their growing importance beside that of the original document’s, as the means of reproduction continuoulsy improved.

Keyphrases: Original, Transfert, Certification, Documentation, Reproduction, Authentique, Evidence, Original, Best evidence rule, Copy, Transfer, Technology-based document, Certification, Documentation, Reproduction, Authentic
Forum de discussion en ligne : analyse des échanges interculturels entre des élèves français et québécois

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are increasingly present in every aspect of our society, such as education. Many teachers use these to work in class with their students. Sometimes, the ICT uses are limited to basic functions, but these technologies can have positive outcomes for students. Intercultural exchanges that may occur through the use of ICT can also help students to open their minds to others.  In this project, students, aged 8 to 12, are linked together with two online software: Knowledge Forum and Via. Via is used for videoconferencing and Knowledge Forum for online writing. The knowledge and attitudes of students toward other cultures and technologies were analyzed. Specifically, the participation, differences and similarities, knowledge, interactions and level of social presence were studied with analytic tools, including Bales’ categories. Interviews conducted with teachers and students were also analyzed. The level of social presence helped students’ attitudes to evolve, becoming friendlier with time. Students learned about each other’s cultures, talked about differences and similarities and shared much information about themselves. In short, technology helped students learn about different cultures and build relationships.

Keyphrases: Knowledge Forum, Via, Culture, Bales, Intercultural exchange, Elementary school
La désignation de la loi applicable en matière de successions internationales :
la professio juris en droit international privé québécois et comparé

While an endless debate opposes the proponents of scission with the proponents of unity of succession, the professio juris offers a new option. The professio juris allows for the determination of the law applicable to an international succession to be evaluated through the perspective of a will’s autonomy and of legal predictability. By conferring to the deceased the ability to designate the law which would govern their succession, they may circumvent the rule of objective conflict in favour of one or more of the Connecting factors of their choice, and thus to avoid the incertitude linked to the evaluation of the objective Connecting factors upon their death. This institution, established in Quebec in 1994, exists only in certain states. Though advantageous in estate planning, the professio juris raised the apprehension that the deceased may use it in order to circumvent imperative rules of the objectively applicable law, and particularly its protective dispositions such as the hereditary reserve. Two limitations of the professio juris then emerged, firstly, restricting the number of laws from amongst which the deceased can choose, and secondly, limiting some of the possible consequences of said choice. This report is a comparative study of the limitations in effect in legislations that recognize the professio juris, in an attempt to clarify Quebec’s. Moreover, this study will analyse how the professio juris has been implemented in other states, observing that it can offer planning possibilities that are unavailable in Quebec, and, finally, to take a critical assessment of those limitations.

Keyphrases: Régimes successoraux particuliers, International successions, Designation / choice of applicable law, Scission / unity, Quebec private international law, Comparative law, Right of succession, Special rules of inheritance
Rôle de la déubiquitinase BAP1 dans la réponse cellulaire aux dommages à l'ADN

Ubiquitination is a reversible, covalent post-translational modification that regulates protein function and as such plays crucial roles in a wide range of physiological processes. Importantly, gain- or loss-of-function mutations in components of the ubiquitin system have been causally linked to tumorigenesis. The reverse reaction of ubiquitination is catalyzed by deubiquitinases (DUBs), a family of enzymes that removes ubiquitin from proteins. BRCA1-Associated Protein 1 (BAP1) is a deubiquitinase known to be a tumor suppressor and anti-metastatic protein since deletions and rearrangements are observed in a wide range of tumors. However, little is known about how BAP1 works into the cells. Here, we show that BAP1 is hyperphosphorylated after DNA damage by gamma radiations and ultraviolet light, probably by ATM and/or ATR. Moreover, we found that BAP1 depletion cause a defect in the maintenance of the G2/M checkpoint after gamma radiation, suggesting that BAP1 is required to maintain the arrest after DNA damage. This delay is important to allow DNA repair and to prevent genomic instability. Consistently, we found that BAP1 expression in BAP1 deficient cells restore normal diploidy and prevent nuclear aberrations, suggesting that BAP1 links DNA damage induced checkpoint regulation to genomic stability: two important processes for carcinogenesis. These findings provide new insights into the role of deubiquitination in cell signaling and neoplastic transformation.

Keyphrases: BAP1, Cancer, DNA damage, G2/M checkpoint, Tumor suppressor
Rendu de matériaux semi-transparents hétérogènes en temps réel

We find in nature several semi-transparent materials such as marble, jade or skin, as well as liquids such as milk or juices. Whether it be for digital movies or video games, having an efficient method to render these materials is an important goal. Although a large body of previous academic work exists in this area, few of these works provide an interactive solution. This thesis presents a new method for simulating light scattering inside heterogeneous semi-transparent materials in real time. The core of our technique relies on a geometric mesh voxelization to simplify the diffusion domain. The diffusion process solves the diffusion equation in order to achieve a fast and efficient simulation. Our method differs mainly from previous approaches by its completely dynamic execution requiring no pre-computations and hence allowing complete deformations of the geometric mesh.

Keyphrases: BSSRDF, Diffusion equation, Voxelization, Real-time rendering
Detection and quantification of staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B in food product using isotopic dilution techniques and mass spectrometry

Staphylococcal enterotoxin B is a highly heat-resistant enteric toxin and it is responsible for over 50% of enterotoxin food poisoning. It represents a particular challenge during food processing since, even if the bacteria have been destroyed, the biological activity of the toxin remains unchanged. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a new method based on a novel proteomic strategy to detect and quantify SEB in food matrices. Tryptic peptide map was generated and 3 specific tryptic peptides were selected and used as surrogate peptides from 9 identified proteolytic fragments (sequence coverage of 35%). Peptides were label with light and heavy form of acetic anhydride to create an isobaric tag that will allow quantification. The linearity was tested using mixtures of different molar ratios and the results showed that measurements by LC-MS/MS were within generally accepted criteria for bioassays with slope values near to 1, values of R2 above 0.98 and less than 8% coefficient of variation (%CV). The precision and accuracy of the method were assessed using chicken meat homogenate samples spiked with SEB at 0.2, 1 and 2 pmol/g. The results indicated that the method can provide accuracy within 84.9 – 91.1% range. Overall, the results presented in this thesis show that proteomics-based methods can be effectively used to detect, confirm and quantify SEB in food matrices.  Keywords: mass spectrometry; stable isotope labeling; quantitative proteomics; enterotoxins

Keyphrases: Mass spectrometry, enterotoxins, stable isotope labeling, quantitative proteomics
Les neutrophiles ne sont pas résistants aux glucocorticoides

Neutrophils are generally considered resistant to glucocorticoids compared to other inflammatory cells. However, there are few studies comparing the effects of glucocorticoids in neutrophils and those of other blood leukocytes (monocytes, lymphocytes and eosinophils). In our study, we assessed glucocorticoid-responsiveness in equine and human peripheral blood neutrophils and in neutrophil-depleted leukocytes. Cells were isolated from 6 healthy horses and 4 human healthy subjects. They were incubated for 5 h with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 100 ng/mL) alone or combined with hydrocortisone, prednisolone or dexamethasone (10-8M and 10-6M). IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-8, glutamine synthetase and Glucocorticoid Receptor α (GR-α) mRNA expression was quantified by qPCR. Equine neutrophils were also incubated for 20 h with or without the three glucocorticoids and cell survival was assessed by flow cytometry and light microscopy. We found that glucocorticoids down-regulated LPS-induced pro-inflammatory mRNA expression in both cell populations and species. These drugs also significantly increased glutamine synthetase gene expression in both equine cell populations. The magnitude of glucocorticoid response was generally similar in both cell populations and species. As reported in other species, glucocorticoids significantly increase the survival in equine neutrophils. Based on these results, it appears that glucocorticoids exert effects of similar magnitude on neutrophils and on other blood leukocytes. We speculate that the poor response to glucocorticoids observed in some chronic neutrophilic human diseases such as severe asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is not explained by an inherent attenuated response of neutrophils to these drugs.

Keyphrases: Neutrophils, Horse, Human, Glucocorticoids responsiveness, Genomic effects, Survival, Pro-inflammatory cytokines, Glucocorticoid receptor, Glutamine synthetase
Perceptions d’infirmières et infirmiers diplômés à l’étranger et de préceptrices sur les stratégies facilitant la transition professionnelle en période de préceptorat

The number of foreign educated nurses (FEN) is in constant progression in Canada. Preceptorship is considered best practice to facilitate the professional transition of FEN in their new environment (Sherman & Eggenberger, 2008). During this period, the challenges for FEN are important because of the differences in culture and practice between the country of origin and the landed one (Johnston & Mohide, 2008). Successful transition is necessary for the well-being of the FEN and their retention in work places, but also for their possible impact on patient’s safety and quality of care (Kawi & Xu, 2009). Inspired by the middle-range theory of transition (Meleis, Sawyer, Im, Messias, & Schumacher, 2000), the goal of this research was to describe the perceptions of FEN and preceptors, in regards to strategies used in preceptorship to overcome barriers and facilitate professional transition of FEN in Quebec’s health system. The results of this descriptive qualitative research were obtained from the analysis of semi-structured interviews with six FEN of French origins and two preceptors. Several strategies addressed to the FEN, the preceptor, the unit’s team members and the hospital organization were identified. Those for the FEN serve to exchange and integrate, accept and optimize, understand and learn, as well as to compare and select; those for the professional community assist to support, guide, personalize, explain and justify. The perceptions of FEN and preceptors vary on many of these strategies. Recommendations for nursing education, practice and nursing research are also provided.

Keyphrases: foreign educated nurse, foreign nurse, preceptorship, theory of transition, strategies of transition
L'adoption d'un régime d'indemnisation sans égard à la faute en faveur des victimes d'infections nosocomiales, et pourquoi pas?

Highly prevailing phenomenon worldwide, healthcare associated infections pose a significant threat to public health. They are considered to be an inevitable reality of the healthcare system that affects a large number of persons with diverse injuries. They result from a complex interplay of factors and represent a major burden for both victims and society, physically, mentally and financially.  Although healthcare associated infections seem to be an important concern for health authorities in Quebec, compensation of victims remains problematic. At the moment, victims have to go through the traditional system of civil liability and face numerous obstacles. Classic rules are proved to be difficult to apply in a context where the source of the infection is often unknown and the factors that contributed to its development multiple.  Confronted to this problem and to the dissatisfaction felt, some foreign jurisdictions have recognized the unsuitability of traditional rules and have introduced a no-fault compensation system in the hope of improving victims’ fate. Quebec chose to opt for the same solution in various fields, such as automobile accidents and immunization. This thesis proposes a comprehensive study of the need to adopt a no-fault compensation scheme benefiting victims of healthcare associated infections. The objective of this project is to outline the characteristics that would ensure the efficiency and viability of the no-fault scheme.

Keyphrases: healthcare associated infections, liability, no-fault compensation, healthcare