NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
The China-OHADA BIT, a step in the right direction : a new model of China-Africa BIT at a regional or sub-regional level

Africa enjoys not only natural resources, but also market potential. There has been a growing injection of private investment inflows from China to Africa recently. China needs to exploit Africa’s potential as an emerging market for its tremendous investments by private enterprises. Moreover, the African countries need Chinese investments in various areas to boost aspects of their economies. Private, market-oriented investment calls for an open, stable, secure and predicable investment environment. However, existing bilateral investment treaties (BIT) between China and Africa adopt the protection-oriented, post-establishment model. The treaties merely provide for some general obligations of investment protection, leaving all other matters to the policy discretion of the host state. The China-Africa BIT regime is sporadic, uninformed and incoherent. The conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA) develops the idea that China might conclude a standalone BIT with the African countries at a regional or sub-regional level to attract Chinese investment inflows into Africa through an open, coherent and uniformed investment scheme. Given the integration of Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique du droit des affaires (OHADA) to be one single jurisdiction over trade and investment, the China-OHADA BIT is the one most likely to be expected. This standalone BIT regime inherently calls for an absolute standard for market access and investment protection, and uniformity to limit the discretion of interpretation, and as such, contribute to a more open, stable, secure and predictable investment climate.

Keyphrases: Chine-OHADA TBI, policy discretion, BIT regime, investment climate, China-OHADA BIT
Donner un consentement éclairé à un soin : réalité ou fiction? Exploration de l'effectivité du consentement éclairé aux soins

This thesis focuses on the relationship between law and reality underlying the doctrine of informed consent. If, as lawyers, the expected behaviors of physicians and patients in terms of informed consents are clear, does a meticulous observation of medical practices show a real consistency between these practices and the informed consent doctrine? Thus, our research aims to demonstrate whether, and to what extent, the actors affected by the informed consent doctrine adopt behaviors that conform to the normative prescriptions. The search for consistency between law and practices is driven by law effectiveness. This analysis framework allows us to question the consistency of the behaviors with the informed consent doctrine, but also the explanatory factors of this effectiveness and more generally the effects of the norm in reality.  Through a combined analysis of secondary scientific data sources and the completion of our own case study, we find that clinical practices pertaining to informed consent are weakly consistent with normative prescriptions. Physicians generally disclose an insufficient amount of information for patient decision making, resulting in poorly informed consents for patients. A majority of patients consider that they are not sufficiently involved in the medical decisions that affect them, and that the actual choice of treatments is still largely dependent on doctors.  While the evidence to explain such ineffectiveness is multifactorial, our research suggests that the application of sanctions in the event of non-compliance with the norm is a determining factor. In particular, professional liability seems to greatly influence the perceptions and behaviors of physicians regarding informed consent. However, our study shows that this sanction is rarely applied, since the civil law elements of liability - fault, harm and causation - are difficult to prove. In light of these findings, we propose to rethink the appreciation of informed consent liability’s elements in order to promote greater effectiveness.

Keyphrases: informed consent, duty to inform, effectivity, professional liability
État-parti, conflits de travail et autonomie collective : pourquoi le droit du travail chinois est-il ineffectif ?

China’s economic miracle since its ‘Reform and Openness’ policies initiated in 1978 could not be realized without its advantages of relatively low labor cost and high productivity. In other words, China's economic development is to some extent based on its ‘Race to the bottom’ working conditions. As a result, social tensions continue to grow and worsen between employees and employers. These social developments lead to a questioning of China’s legal corpus that currently applies to salaried work under its socialist market economy. Could it be that this judicial construction corresponding to Chinese socialism no longer meets the requirements and the reality of the socio-economic context of contemporary China? Indeed, its legal framework regulating industrial relation does not seem to be able to effectively channel labor conflicts and improve working conditions. How to explain this lack of effectiveness of the Chinese labor law? From a perspective of legal normativity, how can the labor law guarantee its effectiveness? Using historical and comparative law approaches, we first analyze the historical transition from the planned economy to the socialist market economy within the general framework of "Reform and Openness" and its consequences for industrial relations. Then, we reveal that, despite the efforts of the party-state in regulating labor relations from the 1990s to today, the ineffectiveness of Chinese labor law is constant. Moreover, we find that the inefficiency of Chinese labor relations law results from factors not only related to the application of the laws, but also to the Chinese trade union system which is based on the monopoly of ACFTU, the only legitimate trade union federation in China. In fact, western experience clearly shows us that, to ensure the effectiveness of state law, state intervention in industrial relations must be based on the protection of the collective autonomy of the social partners in the free determination of the working conditions. Consequently, the ineffectiveness of Chinese legislation in regulating the reality of industrial relations could be attributed above all to the socialist and individual characteristics of Chinese labor law, which does not accept either the existence of class conflict or the need for ensuring collective autonomy of the social partners. Finally, in the event of improving the effectiveness of Chinese labor law, the protection of the collective rights of workers should be strengthened. In this regard, given the political context of the Chinese party-state regime, Quebec law could offer important references to Chinese law.

Keyphrases: ACFTU, Chinese labor law, Labor disputes in China, Effectiveness of the law, Chinese trade union system, Social dialogue in China, Freedom of association, Collective bargaining, Right to strike, Collective autonomy, Working conditions in China, Labor Movement in China
Utilisation des tests génétiques en neuro-développement : perspectives médicales et parentales

INTRODUCTION: In children with global developmental delay (GDD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), genetic testing such as comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) are frequently ordered to explore the underlying etiology. Although genetic testing has quickly become a standard of care, no study has been published on their utilization by paediatricians of Quebec working with these children. Furthermore, pediatricians’ and parents’ perceptions regarding the potential impacts of genetic testing have rarely been explored. To support parents in their decision to perform or not genetic testing to a child, exploration of their perceptions is essential.  OBJECTIVES: The studies presented in this thesis aim to 1) study the utilization and knowledge of paediatricians about genetic testing in children with GDD or ASD, 2) explore pediatricians’ perceptions regarding the potential impacts of genetic testing for these children, and 3) examine parents’ perspectives regarding the expected and real impacts of genetic testing.  METHODS: For this thesis, four studies have been conducted. In the first study, a survey was performed to describe the utilization of genetic testing by paediatricians of Quebec. In the three other studies, mixed methods were used to explore physicians’ and parents’ perceptions regarding genetic testing performed in children with developmental disorders.  RESULTS: Most participating pediatricians (94%) have already prescribed genetic testing for children with GDD or ASD. However, their knowledge about genetic tests and guidelines are limited. When prescribing genetic tests, pediatricians expect different benefits, including 1) clarifying the diagnosis, 2) identifying the etiology, 3) allowing access to genetic counseling and improved medical care. Similar expectations are reported by parents. Nonetheless, many parents expected that the results of the test would indicate their child’s prognosis or the treatment needed to cure the child of the developmental disorder. One year later, parents report variable impacts depending on the results of the genetic testing and on the meaning attributed to the results of the test. Finally, many parents interpreted their child’s result in a deterministic manner, attributing to the test result the ability to determine their child’s outcome.  CONCLUSION: Although most paediatricians have already prescribed genetic testing for a child with GDD or ASD, their knowledge on these tests is limited. Pediatricians and parents are generally optimistic regarding the potential impacts of genetic testing. Still, more attention should be paid to parent’s perceptions and expectations. Indeed, erroneous interpretations of the results and of their potential implications could compromise parental acceptance of their child’s developmental difficulties.

Keyphrases: CGH, Perspectives parentales, Autism, Developmental delay, Neurodevelopment, Genetic testing, Parental perspectives, Pediatricians, Paediatricians, Comparative genomic hybridization, Clinical ethics
Évaluation du système vestibulaire et ses fonctions chez les personnes sourdes avec ou sans implant cochléaire

Postural control is the result of the integration of diverse sensory cues such as: visual, proprioceptive and vestibular. Previous evidences suggest possible contribution of the auditory cues in postural control. However, these studies report contradictory evidences of the influence of auditory privation and restauration on postural control. The principal objective of this thesis is to evaluate the role of hearing on the postural control. The first study aimed to determine the impact of hearing protection on postural control in healthy adults. For this study, 14 healthy adults were assessed on a force platform using four different postural conditions either with or without hearing protection. The results suggest that reducing auditory cues increases the reliance on visual cues for postural control. The objective of the second study was to examine sensory reweighting for postural control in congenitally deaf individuals. For this study, 14 controls and 14 deaf age-matched individuals were assessed using a force platform on four postural conditions. The results confirmed poorer postural stability in the deaf. More importantly, the data suggest that congenitally deaf individuals rely more on somatosensory information for postural control than controls. The third study aimed to evaluate the influence of auditory cues on postural sway in normal-hearing individuals, hearing-impaired individuals with vestibular impairment or without vestibular impairment. For this study, 32 participants were classified based on auditory and vestibular evaluations and then were separated in three groups. All participants had to stand on a force platform in four postural conditions under two auditory conditions: with or without auditory cues. Results revealed that only the participants with concomitant loss (auditory and vestibular) had a benefit from auditory cues. Finally, the fourth study aimed to investigate the influence of cochlear implantation on postural control in relation to the vestibular function prior to surgery. For this study, four cochlear implant candidates, 13 normal hearing controls had a vestibular and postural evaluation prior and following cochlear implant surgery. The results suggest that an increase in postural sway following cochlear implant was present only for the participants that received the implant in the ear with the better vestibular function. Overall, these results are in favor that auditory input may act as a fourth channel for the control of posture and in some case may help to compensate for vestibular loss. However, further studies are necessary to optimize the benefit of auditory input on postural control.

Keyphrases: Posture, Vestibular, Hypoacusis, Hearing loss, Sensory weighting
Régression de Cox avec partitions latentes issues du modèle de Potts

The goal of this research project is to develop a non-parametric Bayesian regression model derived from random partitions in a survival analysis context. Our final objective is to build a forecasting system that initially consists of grouping observations with similar characteristics. Once subgroups are formed, survival within each subgroup is assessed using a non-parametric Bayesian model.  The number of subgroups in the population is random. We propose the use of the Potts classification model (Murua, Stanberry et Stuetzle) applied to the covariate space to generate the formation of random partitions of individuals.  For any given partition, the model proposed in this project assumes a interval-wise Weibull distribution for the baseline hazard rate inpired from the model first proposed by Ibrahim (Ibrahim 2001).  Estimates and inference are made using MCMC methods. We also use the Laplace approximation method (Shun et McCullagh) to estimate some constants and propose parameter updates in the application of the MCMC algorithm.  Finally, we compare the performance of our model with that of a classical Cox regression and the non-parametric Bayesian model of product partition indexed by covariates, PPMx, all this with the help of numerous simulations. In general, our model has delivered results comparable to those of its competitors and has in some cases proven to be the best choice.

Keyphrases: classification, Cox model, Clustering, non parametric Bayesian inference, Random Partition Models, Potts model, Proportional hazards models, Cox regression model, survival analysis
Tests d'ajustement reposant sur les méthodes d'ondelettes dans les modèles ARMA avec un terme d'erreur qui est une différence de martingales conditionnellement hétéroscédastique

Wavelet-based test procedures for lack-of-fit in autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models with conditionally heteroskedastic martingale difference innovations are investigated. In the framework of so-called semistrong ARMA models, the innovations are not independent, but are presumed a martingale difference, see for example Francq et al. (2005). Consequently, the Chi-square distributions of the popular Box-Pierce-Ljung test statistics, established under the hypothesis of independence in the error term, are not necessarily adequate. Moreover, the seasonal irregularities in the spectral density of the innovation can affect the power of the classical tests. This provides motivations for studying wavelet methods in the current context, where the error term is presumed more general than independent random variables.  To find the asymptotic distribution of the new wavelet-based tests, we begin by establishing the asymptotic distribution of the residual autocovariances based on the residuals of the fitted model. The wavelet-based spectral density relies on certain coefficients, the so-called wavelet coefficients. We derive the asymptotic distribution of the empirical versions of those wavelet coefficients when the ARMA model is correctly specified. We show that the asymptotic variances and covariances of the empirical wavelet coefficients depend on both the coefficients of the ARMA model, and the covariance structure of the second moment of the innovations.  Those results are used to construct new tests. We demonstrate that those test statistics have Chi-square distributions asymptotically. The performances of the proposed test statistics are investigated via Monte Carlo simulation studies for several sample sizes. The results of our simulations suggest that the new tests converge reasonably quickly to the Chi-square distributions and offer favorable power properties over the classical statistical tests, at least in some models. An example with real data illustrates the methodology.

Keyphrases: Lack of fit tests, ARMA model, Conditionally heteroscedastic martingale difference, Wavelet method, Residual autocorrelation, Spectral density
La mesure de Mahler d’une forme de Weierstrass

This master’s thesis goal is to give a simple and brief introduction about Mahler measure and its connections with elliptic curves L-functions. This theory culminates with the Bloch-Beı̆linson conjectures which we try to explain at the end of chapter 2, the first two chapters serving to introduce the necessary requirements to understand them and as a stepping stone to this master’s main question which is to find a link between the Mahler measure of y 2 + 4xy + 2y − x 3 and the L-function associated to it.  For this purpose, we see that the conjectured relation given by D. Boyd [1] is false but we still study the homology cycles and integration paths associated to the elliptic curves y 2 + 4xy + 2y − x 3 = 0 and (1 + x)(1 + y)(x + y) + 2xy = 0.

Keyphrases: Mahler measure, Elliptic curve, Special values of L-functions, Tempered polynomial, Newton polygon, Elliptic regulator
MCMC adaptatifs à essais multiples

This memoir aims at introducing adaptation within the Multiple-Try Metropolis (MTM) algorithms which are a special case of the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. The MCMC methods, along with their adaptive and multiple-try extensions, are thoroughly explored (both in their possible variations and in their theoretical properties) in order to firmly anchor  the study of the proposed adaptive Multiple-Try Metropolis (aMTM) algorithm. Moreover, some existing results on the properties of MTM algorithms are generalized to enable more general results about the aMTM algorithm. The ergodicity of the algorithm is then established using well known results of Roberts and Rosenthal (2007), Andrieu and Moulines (2006) and Craiu et al. (2015) and its empirical performance is studied through a series of simulation experiments. The aMTM algorithm achieves notably better performance than simpler samplers (non-adaptive or single-try) when applied to distributions that are multimodal or that exhibit complex geometry. Finally, many variations of the algorithm are proposed and compared to identify settings that are particularly more efficient. An implementation of the algorithm is provided in a R package called aMTM available at https://github.com/fontaine618/aMTM.

Keyphrases: Markov chain Monte Carlo, Adaptive Markov chain Monte Carlo, Multiple-Try Metropolis, Ergodicity
Comparaison empirique des méthodes bootstrap dans un contexte d'échantillonnage en population finie

In this thesis, we compare by simulation various bootstrap methods for evaluating the accuracy of a survey estimate for three sampling designs: simple random sampling, Poisson sampling and conditional Poisson sampling. Most bootstrap methods have been derived to reproduce the usual variance estimate for a linear parameter such as the average or the total of a population. We evaluate the method on their capacity to estimate the variance of survey estimates and to build bootstrap confidence intervals using four different techniques, namely asymptotic intervals, bootstrap percentile, basic bootstrap and t-bootstrap intervals for totals, but also ratios, correlation coefficients, medians, and Gini indices. The implementation of t-bootstrap intervals for several bootstrap methods is an original contribution of this dissertation.

Keyphrases: t-bootstrap, Poids bootstrap, Pseudo-population, Variance estimation, Confidence intervals, Bootstrap weights, Sampling design, Unequal probability sampling
Validation de modalités d’imagerie innovantes de l’athérosclérose par cathéter intravasculaire bimodal combinant fluorescence (NIRF) et ultrasons (IVUS) couplé à l’injection locale de sondes moléculaires in vivo ciblant ICAM-1 et le collagène

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality worldwide, with the onset of myocardial infarction and sudden death resulting mainly from the rupture of a vulnerable coronary atherosclerotic plaque. Contemporary invasive imaging modalities enable analysis of anatomical and morphological characteristics of the atheroma plaque without providing information on the biology of atherosclerosis. Thus, the identification of molecular and cellular determinants defining high-risk plaques is a promising approach to improve our current knowledge of coronary heart disease and to optimize patient treatment. This research project aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of a novel molecular imaging technique using a custom bimodal intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) – near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) catheter imaging system combined to local injection of labeled-specific imaging probes targeting both inflammation (ICAM-1) and plaque composition (unpolymerized type I collagen fibers) in two distinct atherosclerotic animal models.   Preliminary results presented in this thesis describe an original and novel intravascular imaging technique for in vivo detection of inflammation and plaque morphology using specific fluorescent molecular tracers injected in low concentration in the vicinity of plaques visualized by IVUS. The bimodal IVUS-NIRF imaging catheter system used in this project enables accurate NIRF signal multiplexing following dual-injection of molecular probes coupled to distinct fluorophores, which might offer the possibility of targeting a panel of high-risk biomarkers simultaneously within in a single atherosclerotic plaque. Thus, this in vivo molecular imaging application is a promising strategy that could translate to future human studies with the purpose to identify key biological processes involved in human coronary atherosclerotic plaque instability, an unmet need in clinical practice.

Keyphrases: plaque vulnérable, ICAM-1, Atherosclerosis, Vulnerable plaque, Type-I collagen, Biomarkers, Molecular probes, Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), Near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF)
Fonctions entières complexes ayant des propriétés prescrites sur la droite réelle

This thesis is successively devoted to interpolation-extrapolation and approximation in certain classes of functions defined on particular sets. Thus, we construct extensions of class C m (m finite or not) for functions defined on certain subsets (half-space, quarter-space, slabs, ...) of R n . Also, given a real-analytic function mapping an open interval I onto an interval J, we extend this function to a holomorphic function mapping a neighbourhood U of I in C into a given neighbourhood V of J. With regards to approximation, the Weierstrass approximation theorem was generalized by Walsh. A further generalization was given recently by Burke. We have attempted (with difficulty) to fashion a simpler proof than that given by Burke. As a tool we have invoked the Whitney approximation theorem for C ∞-functions, afte giving a version for C m-functions, where m is finite. Finally, this allowed us to complete the proof of Burke’s theorem.

Keyphrases: Approximation, Interpolation, Holomorphic, Manifold, Extension, Dense, Universality