NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Symphonie no 3 en mi bémol majeur, op. 55, dite « Eroica », de Ludwig van Beethoven : a
nalyse musicale de l’Allegro con brio et exégèse maçonnique

At the beginning of the 19th century, the changes coming from France dominate the European sociopolitical landscape. In reaction to these, Franz I restricts individual freedom of the subjects of the Holy Roman Empire, while within the aristocracy, the numbers of adepts of the Aufklärung movement and believers in freedom and tolerance are growing. It is in this context that Beethoven composes his Third Symphony in 1803-104. Solomon (2004) has demonstrated that his whole life, the composer was surrounded with members of the  Aufklärung, many of them also freemasons. Masonic symbols in Beethoven’s hand are even to be found on a page of his sketchbook for the Eroica (Lockwood, 2013). Therefore, it only seems logical to analyse the symphony from the angle of a masonic interpretation. A formal analysis of the first movement according to Caplin’s method (1998), the first of its kind to be applied to a whole movement from a Beethoven symphony, brings to the fore a marked recurrence of the number three throughout numerous parameters (tonality, measure, rhythm, form, instrumentation). Furthermore, all three steps of the masonic initiation rite (death, burial and resurrection) are represented in the first three movements, whereas one also finds references to the French motto of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité in the last three. This new reading of a fundamental work of the symphonic canon represents a novel contribution to the historiography of Beethoven.

Keyphrases: Beethoven, Eroica, symphonies, Aufklärung, Enlightenment, freemasonry, Napoleon, Caplin analysis, analyse Caplin, Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, initiation rite
La glycoprotéine GLG1 régule le métabolisme des lipides et le développement de l’athérosclérose chez les souris déficientes en apolipoprotéine E

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Significant efforts have been made to prevent CVD and have resulted in a reduced mortality rate. However, a considerable slowdown in the reduction rate of CVD has been observed starting in 2011 despite new therapeutic advances. These alarming rates justify the need to discover new therapies to improve the prevention of CVD in the general population. High levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are strongly linked to atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Thus, lipid-lowering therapies are the most used therapies to prevent CVDs. Our previous study identified Golgi glycoprotein 1 (GLG1) as a new protein involved in lipid metabolism. Therefore, our current study aims to demonstrate the effect of GLG1 on the development of atherosclerosis. To study the effect of GLG1 on atherosclerosis, we reduced GLG1 expression in hypercholesterolemic Apoe-/- mice livers using an adeno-associated virus coding for a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting GLG1 then 2 weeks post-injection mice were fed a Western diet for 12 weeks. The study revealed that GLG1 knockdown significantly reduced plasma total cholesterol levels, especially very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)- and LDL-C, and atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic root. However, our results showed that AAV-mediated GLG1 knockdown was not stable during the entire study, making it ineffective in lowering plasma cholesterol levels beyond 2 months. In summary, our results show that lowering GLG1 expression reduces plasma cholesterol levels as well as atherosclerosis progression in Apoe-/- mice. Remarkably, the reduction in atherosclerosis occurred in spite of the gradual loss of GLG1 AAV-mediated knockdown and is likely related to the reduced apolipoptotein B100 secretion. These findings demonstrate that GLG1 is a promising therapeutic target for lowering plasma cholesterol levels, particularly VLDL- and LDL-C, and preventing atherosclerosis development.

Keyphrases: GLG1, LDL, AAV, ApoB100, Atherosclerosis, Cardiovascular disease
Caractérisation des isoformes du brain-derived neurotrophic factor et de ses récepteurs dans les plaquettes humaines

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a protein that was initially identified in the central nervous system, where it is involved in learning and memory by promoting neuronal growth and survival. These effects of BDNF are mediated through its binding to the tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) and the 75 kDa pan-neurotrophic receptor (p75NTR). Mature BDNF results from the cleavage of its precursor protein proBDNF, which rather has a proapoptotic effect on neurons. While discovered in the brain, BDNF is found in much higher abundance in the blood circulation, where it is mostly contained within platelets. It has been shown that BDNF concentration in platelets can reach up to 1000 times those of the brain, and that peripheral BDNF levels are altered in certain neurological and psychiatric diseases. Despite these important BDNF concentrations in platelets, very few studies assessed the presence of proBDNF, TrkB and p75NTR in these cells. Furthermore, identification of these proteins in platelets was not a main objective of the studies that did assess that question. Consequently, methodology is not always described, and the results are mostly reported as data not shown. Until now, proBDNF, TrkB and p75NTR have not been reported in platelets. The main objective of this master’s thesis was to investigate the presence of proBDNF as well as receptors TrkB and p75NTR in healthy human platelets, and to characterize them if they were found in these cells. The results suggest that platelets express all three proteins, but that the isoforms found in platelets differ from the ones found in the brain. Also, the results show that these differences are not explained by differential N-glycosylation patterns. The identity of the proteins of interest could not be verified by protein sequencing, and their exact nature is yet to be confirmed. The presence of proBDNF as well as the TrkB and p75NTR receptors in platelets could be of interest in the search of peripheral biomarkers for neurological diseases. In addition, presence of these proteins at the platelet level could pave the way for further studies investigating their functions in platelets, and possibly result in advances in our knowledge of platelet biology.

Keyphrases: TrkB, p75NTR, BDNF, Platelets, Neurotrophins
Trajectoires de soins chez les patients souffrants d’une maladie pulmonaire obstructive chronique

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) navigate in the healthcare system in different ways. However, those trajectories of care (ToCs) are not well described and their impact on mortality is unknown. Therefore, our research project’s objectives were to identify and characterize the ToCs of COPD patients and to evaluate the association between those ToCs and mortality. To do so, we conducted a retrospective cohort study with 3352 COPD patients living in Quebec, who answered the Canadian Community Health Survey between 2007 and 2013. Three Quebec health administrative databases (RAMQ, MED-ÉCHO and RED/D) were linked to the survey data to measure ToCs over a 2-year period, using sequence analysis. Patients’ characteristics were compared between ToCs with chi-square and V tests. At last, we evaluated the association between ToCs and death over a maximum of 5 years, using Cox models adjusted for potential confounders. Following sequence analysis, 6 ToCs were identified: 1) low use of healthcare services: all causes (44.7%); 2) medium use of healthcare services: all causes (27.7%); 3) high use of healthcare services mainly with general practitioners (GPs): respiratory causes (4.4%); 4) high use of healthcare services mainly with GPs: other causes than respiratory (6.5%); 5) high use of healthcare services mainly with specialists: other causes than respiratory (6.3%) and 6) high use of healthcare services mainly in acute care: all causes (10.4%). Patients’ characteristics that best-described the trajectories’ membership were age, smoking status, marital status, level of education, comorbidity index and, patients’ perceived health. Patients belonging to trajectories 2, 4 and 6 were significantly more at risk of death than patients belonging to the first trajectory. Thus, a better understanding of the ToCs in Quebec and their association with mortality could help policymakers and clinicians for the allocation of care and health resources, thereby promoting least fatal ToCs.

Keyphrases: COPD, trajectories of care, sequence analysis, administrative databases, Canadian community health survey, healthcare services, mortality
L’impact de la variation des mesures d’utilité sur le ratio coût-utilité incrémental des traitements indiqués pour la maladie de Crohn

Objectives: Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis are both associated with a high socioeconomic burden. In Canada, cost-utility analyses (CUA) are privileged in order to allocate healthcare spending efficiently. Since utility measures are essential for CUA, the objective of this study was to assess the impact utility values on the incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) of CD treatments. Methods: A decision-tree model was developed to assess the impact of utility values derived from the EQ-5D, the visual analogue scale (VAS), the time trade off (TTO) and the standard gamble (SG), on the resulted ICUR of Infliximab (IFX) + Standard of Care (SoC) (prednisone, mesalazine (MZ), azathioprine (AZA), 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP)) versus Placebo (Pbo) + SoC. The model was conducted over a one-year time horizon from the Canadian healthcare and societal perspectives. The weighted averages of utility values were estimated based on a systematic literature evaluation. Both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were also conducted. Results: The ICURs ranged from $67,068/QALY (TTO) to $268,385/QALY (EQ-5D). At a $50,000/QALY threshold, the probability of IFX + SoC of being cost-effective was of 0% in most analyses except for the TTO method (4.0%). Conclusion: The variability of utility measures has a considerable impact on the ICURs and requires a special attention from decision-makers, in regards of sensitivity analyses.

Keyphrases: Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, Ulcerative colitis, Utility, Preference-based measures
Variants génétiques associés à l’adiposité et à la pression artérielle : une réplication

Introduction : Melka et al. (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2012) tested the hypothesis that adiposity and blood pressure share a common genetic architecture in adolescents. They identified five single nucleotide variants, rs16933812 (PAX5), rs7638110 (MRPS22), rs9930333 (FTO), rs7120548 (MTCH2) and rs17773430 (MC4R), associated with body mass index, three of which (MRPS22, PAX and FTO) were also associated with systolic blood pressure. Objective: To investigate if the reported associations between the five variants and adiposity and blood pressure can be replicated in a population similar in age and geographical situation. Methods: Data were drawn from the Nicotine Dependence In Teens study, a longitudinal study of adolescents followed-up from 12 years old. The DNA of 713 adolescents of European ancestry was genotyped and anthropometric and systolic blood pressure measurements were taken at age 13, 15, 17 and 24 on average. The associations between the five variants and both body mass index and systolic blood pressure were estimated using linear mixed models. Results: We replicated the associations of variants at genes FTO and MTCH2 with body mass index, but not those corresponding to MRPS22, PAX or MC4R. Further, none of the associations with systolic blood pressure were replicated. Conclusion: Explanations for the partial replication of results include differences in genetic structures across study populations, different definitions of the blood pressure phenotype and the overestimation of specific effects initially estimated by Melka et al.

Keyphrases: Adiposity, Blood pressure, Genetic associations
Kant et la réfutation de l'idéalisme cartésien

It is interesting to notice that Kant, after having added to the second edition of his CPR the section entitled “Refutation of Idealism,” felt compelled immediately thereafter, and before going to press, to introduce further elements, or better : to reconsider the whole argument, by way of two footnotes. It is as if he had realized that this Refutation of 1787 raised the same difficulties as the ones he had faced in the fourth Paralogism of 1781, and that his proof in the end can only be made plausible through the reference to an object ‘from outside,’ rendered accessible through the “outer sense.” This object however must ultimately relate to the thing in itself.

Keyphrases: Kant, Idealism, Refutation, Outer sense, Thing in itself
Heidegger, Cohen, and the neo-Kantian reading of Kant

Heidegger never develops a systematic criticism of Hermann Cohen’s interpretation of Kant. He formulates at most and in passing a few remarks, mostly negative, for example on the awkwardness of insisting on the quaestio juris to get access to the Deduction, or on the « fact of science », incidentally misunderstood by Heidegger. My aim here is to indicate this notwithstanding a few points of convergence. For instance, both Cohen and Heidegger refuse from the start the psychologist readings of the CPR. Rather than tracing the origin of the a priori in the faculties of the soul, they prefer to focus on the genesis of the object. This means that they share the goal of promoting Kant’s transcendentalism, in insisting, like Cohen, on the « production of reality » in the Anticipations of Perception or, like Heidegger, on the schematism, whose reliance on time ultimately reflects the finitude of Dasein.

Keyphrases: Kant, Heidegger, Cohen, Hermann, Transcendentalism, Psychologism
Heidegger et Cohen, lecteurs de Kant

Heidegger never develops a systematic criticism of Hermann Cohen’s interpretation of Kant. He formulates at most and in passing a few remarks, mostly negative, for example on the awkwardness of insisting on the quaestio juris to get access to the Deduction, or on the « fact of science », incidentally misunderstood by Heidegger. My aim here is to indicate this notwithstanding a few points of convergence. For instance, both Cohen and Heidegger refuse from the start the psychologist readings of the CPR. Rather than tracing the origin of the a priori in the faculties of the soul, they prefer to focus on the genesis of the object. This means that they share the goal of promoting Kant’s transcendentalism, in insisting, like Cohen, on the « production of reality » in the Anticipations of Perception or, like Heidegger, on the schematism, whose reliance on time ultimately reflects the finitude of Dasein.

Keyphrases: Kant, Heidegger, Cohen, Hermann, Transcendentalism, Psychologism
Guerre et paix : les deux acceptions du droit des peuples en 1797

If in Toward Perpetual Peace (1795) Kant imitates ironically the form of a peace treaty, his exposition of international law in the Doctrine of Right (1797) adopts a much more academic or more scientific presentation. Hence, in Paragraph 43 of the Doctrine, Kant develops his views on public right in three steps: 1- political right (jus civitatis), 2- right of the peoples (jus gentium) and 3a- political right of the peoples (jus gentium, I leave 3b aside). We notice here that jus gentium characterizes step 2, but also step 3a. The difference lays in the fact that the relations between nations are still in a state of nature in step 2, whereas step 3a overcomes this state in order to promote juridical union between nations. Now what form such a juridical union should take? Kant sees two options for step 3a: (i) a loose federation of independent nation states, or (ii) an allencompassing state of nation states. Both options are in fact legitimate. If step 3a is designated by the composite term “Völker-staats-recht,” it depends on whether one insists on (i) Völkerrecht or on (ii) Staatsrecht.

Keyphrases: Kant, International law, Federation of states, State of nation states
Caractérisation et modélisation des comportements d'une guêpe parasitoïde en fonction de la température : conséquences populationnelles et lutte biologique

The behavioural responses of insects remain poorly understood once they move away from their thermal optimum. The more extreme and variable temperature conditions projected for the coming decades should, to the extent that insects do not adapt quickly to changes, push organisms to the limit of their ability to function. Behavioural responses to temperature may be kinetic (resulting from the acceleration/slowing down of the organism's chemical reactions as a function of temperature) or integrated (resulting from the integration of thermo-sensory information by the insect's central nervous system), adaptive or constrained. Distinguishing between these different types of response will help to better understand and predict the response of individuals to new conditions caused by climate change. Individual responses can then be used to infer the consequences on populations. In this thesis, several behaviours of Anaphes listronoti, a parasitoid of the carrot weevil (Listronotus oregonensis) eggs, were observed, depending on the thermal window allowing its activities. Firstly, it was shown that the walking behaviour of A. listronoti females was not simply a kinetic response to temperature, but also corresponded to an integrated response such as avoidance of cold thermal conditions and conservation of energy at high temperatures. In a second step, the exploitation of host patches was compared at different temperatures. The exploitation strategy did not vary with temperature, but constraints related to host handling and detection of chemical cues at high temperatures were revealed. Next, courtship and mating behaviour was observed as a function of temperature. Sub-optimal temperatures decreased mating success, but not sperm transfer during mating. Recognition constraints between sexual partners were also observed at infra- and supra-optimal temperatures. Finally, a model integrating the development of the different stages of the insect and the previously studied behaviours was conceptualized. This model makes it possible to combine the effects of temperature on the behaviour of an individual and the consequences on the parasitoid population, as well as the host population. Adding behaviors to population models does not necessarily add value, but it remains essential to consider them, particularly in the context of climate change. Indeed, while physiological responses such as development increase to a maximum of about 35°C, most behaviours become suboptimal from 30°C onwards, and cease almost completely at 35°C. In a context of climate change, these results allow to better understand and potentially predict the individual and population responses of insects to different thermal conditions.

Keyphrases: Behavioral ecology, Parasitoid, Modeling
Essays in financial econometrics and asset pricing

This thesis is organized in three chapters. In the first chapter (which is co-authored with Ilze Kalnina), we propose a statistical test to assess the adequacy of the most popular measure of idiosyncratic risk, which is the idiosyncratic volatility. Our test statistic exploits the idea that a “good" measure of the idiosyncratic risk should be uncorrelated in the cross-section. Using in-fill asymptotics, we study the theoretical properties of the test and find that it has a non-standard behaviour due to various biases induced by the latency of the idiosyncratic volatility. Moreover, we propose a regression model that can be used to reduce if not eliminate the cross-sectional dependences in assets idiosyncratic volatilities. The second chapter of my thesis is the fruit of a colaboration with Christian Dorion and Pierre Chaigneau. In this chapter, we study the relevance of higher-order risk aversion in asset pricing. The evidence in Kraus and Litzenberger (1976) and Harvey and Siddique (2000a) has spurred the literature on the estimation of the risk premiums attached to skewness and kurtosis risk in addition to the standard variance risk. However, most of these studies focus on the estimation of unconditional premiums or average premiums. In this chapter, we propose a methodology that allows to accurately estimate the time-varying higher-order risk aversions using options prices. Our study complements the literature as we also study the higher-order risks beyond the kurtosis such as hyperskewness and hyperkurtosis risks which are valued by a CRRA investor. . In my third chapter, I study the term-structure of price of co-skewness risk. Co-Skewness risk captures the portion of the stock returns asymmetry that arises as a result of market returns asymmetry. I propose a general methodology that allows to study the multi-horizon pricing of this risk in contrast to many existing studies.

Keyphrases: co-skewness, options, Systematic risk, idiosyncratic risk, factor model, idiosyncratic volatility, higher-order risk, term structure, co-skewness, risk premium
"Believe it or not, this is Afghanistan!" : la mise en scène "culturelle" de la guerre dans les entraînements militaires aux États-Unis

The thesis looks at the performance of war in military training in the US. It studies the mock Middle Eastern villages that are used for Iraq and Afghanistan pre-deployment training. These villages are found on several military bases such as the National Training Center of Fort Irwin (California), where a dozen of oriental towns were implemented since 2007 in order to prepare the troops for urban and asymmetrical type of warfare in the context of counterinsurgency. In these immersive environments, the US military tries to reproduce overseas sociocultural and religious landscapes: mosques, tea rooms, street markets, traditional houses and so on form the set. To prepare the soldiers to the human terrain, a cultural encounter between them and the local population is simulated through role play. Actors, sometimes from Iraq and Afghanistan, are hired to enact the local population. This is said to prevent an anticipated “culture clash” on the ground and raise cultural awareness amongst the soldiers. Experts from the filmmaking industry such as pyrotechnics and makeup artists also take part in these simulations – working to make them more “realistic” through their special effects.   The thesis examines the rationalities and technologies at stake in the mock villages, and the way they sustain the « cultural » mise en scène of war. The research interrogates the material and discursive practices of the performances taking place in the mock towns. In what instances are the simulation exercices anchored in a racialized system of representation; how is the American orientalism being rearticulated in these spaces; what political myths and hegemonic discourses are circulating in these fictive geographies? The thesis problematizes the ways of knowing and representing the other. Therefore, the research takes part to the discussion on otherness initiated by diverse theoritical accounts and academic fields, such as cultural studies, critical race theories, and postcolonial critique. The analysis is based on a short observation at NTC. The Center offers guided tours of the base, allowing the general public to attend to one day of training in the mock villages. I participated twice in these “NTC Box tours”. I also conducted semi-directed interviews with more than twenty Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, in which they share with me their experiences of pre-deployment training and their thoughts on the place of culture in military simulations.

Keyphrases: Military training, War on terror, Global war on terrorism (GWOT), Counter-insurgency, Irak war, Afghanistan war, Performance and perfomativity, War games, Orientalism, Governmentality