NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Patterns and quality of object-oriented software systems

Maintenance costs during the past decades have reached more than 70% of the overall costs of object-oriented systems, because of many factors, such as changing software environments, changing users' requirements, and the overall quality of systems. One factor on which we have a control is the quality of systems. Many object-oriented software quality models have been introduced in the literature to help assess and control quality. However, these models usually use metrics of classes (such as number of methods) or of relationships between classes (for example coupling) to measure internal attributes of systems. Yet, the quality of object-oriented systems does not depend on classes' metrics solely: it also depends on the organisation of classes, i.e. the system design that concretely manifests itself through design styles, such as design patterns and antipatterns.  In this dissertation, we propose the method DEQUALITE to systematically build quality models that take into account the internal attributes of the systems (through metrics) but also their design (through design patterns and antipatterns). This method uses a machine learning approach based on Bayesian Belief Networks and builds on the results of a series of experiments aimed at evaluating the impact of design patterns and antipatterns on the quality of systems. These experiments, performed on 9 large object-oriented open source systems enable us to draw the following conclusions:  • Counter-intuitively, design patterns do not always improve the quality of systems; tangled implementations of design patterns for example significantly affect the structure of classes and negatively impact their change- and fault-proneness.  • Classes participating in antipatterns are significantly more likely to be subject to changes and to be involved in fault-fixing changes than other classes.  • A non negligible percentage of classes participate in co-occurrences of antipatterns and design patterns in systems. On these classes, design patterns have a positive effect in mitigating antipatterns.  We apply and validate our method on three open-source object-oriented systems to demonstrate the contribution of the design of system in quality assessment.

Keyphrases: Design patterns, Antipatterns, Quality models, Machine learning, Bayesian belief networks
La protection des créances des sous-traitants dans le domaine de la construction

Subcontracting is an established practice in the construction industry, because of its economic and technical strengths. Through this practice, sub-contractors perform work without being contractually bound to the client. How to ensure payment of their claims, given the risk of default by the contractor. The legislature has provided a statutory system of protection and the practice has developed mechanisms. Although the statutory scheme ensures effective protection of subcontractors’ claims, it has certain weaknesses in its application, which may cause inconveniences to the subcontractors and the owner. Title insurance and the withholding of funds by the financial institution or notary can overcome these difficulties for the owner. The protection mechanisms developed through practice, such as bond and currency guarantees, increase the protection of subcontractors when used in conjunction with the statutory scheme and benefits the owner.

Keyphrases: Construction, Construction, Subcontractor, Supplier of materials, Contractor, Construction hypothec, Workman’s privilege, Bond, Title insurance, Notary
Immigration et identité face aux enjeux de la Guerre Froide : une étude du débat sur la politique d'immigration dans la sphère publique américaine (1952-1965)

Abstract:   Following the Second World War, immigration policy became an important issue for the United States, as the main immigration law dated back to 1924. If the idea that immigration policy needed to be modernized was shared by most legislators, the debate over the adoption of a new law was fierce. Those who favoured a restrictive policy based on the reaffirmation of the national origins quota system, which made nationality the main criteria for admission, got their wish when the McCarran-Walter Act was enacted in 1952. On the other side of the debate, those who favoured liberalization saw the new law as discriminatory and harmful to American foreign policy objectives, particularly in the context of the ideologically charged Cold War. During the late fifties and early sixties, liberal reformers progressively gained the upper hand, and a new law was adopted in 1965.  This study analyses how American public opinion reacted to the immigration policy reform debate. The study of primary sources reflecting the attitudes of the American public on immigration policy revealed that public opinion underwent a progressive liberalization during the era of reform. The interpretation of this liberalization is centered on the growing influence Cold War dynamics in the immigration reform debate.

Keyphrases: United States, Immigration policy, Reform, Public opinion, Cold war, Foreign policy
L'India nell'immaginario occidentale

India in the 60 and 70 has been the destination of the journey of five European and American writers who have stayed and wrote about it. Pasolini, Moravia, Ginsberg, Paz and Duras wrote of India using different languages from the travel documents, to the notes, to the essay, to the diaries up to the cinematic language. They described their encounter with the Other trying to go over the exotic stereotypes of western discourse into a space opaque and fragmented.

Keyphrases: India, imaginary, India, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Allen Ginsberg, Octavio Paz, Marguerite Duras, travel
Polymérisation du lactide par des catalyseurs β-diketiminate de zinc et de magnésium

N,N’-Di(S-phenylethyl)-2-amino-4-imino-pent-2-ene, S,S-nacnacCH(Me)PhH,  2.1a, N,N’-dibenzyl-2-amino-4-imino-pent-2-ene, nacnacBnH, 2.1b, and N,N’-  dibenzyl-2-amino-4-iminopent-2-chloro-ene, Cl-nacnacBnH, react with  Zn[N(SiMe3)2]2 to form the corresponding nacnacZnN(SiMe3)2 complexes. From  further reactions with isopropanol nacnacZnOiPr, 2.7a, 2.7b and 3.3, were obtained.  All complexes were catalytically active for the polymerisation of rac-lactide with  apparent first-order reaction rates in lactide. Obtained polymers showed heterotactic  preference, with Pr = 0.84 – 0.87 (2.7a), 0.65 – 0.71 (2.7b) and 0.59 – 0.65 (3.3).  Changing N-alkyl substituents from chiral to achiral resulted in a drop in Pr. The  value increased with an electron-poor substituant on the backbone.   The Mg analogous complex greatly increased the polymerization rate (from  1.5 h to 0.5 h for 98 % conv.). The resulting polylactide (PLA) was atactic at room  temperature, but showed a slight preference for isotacticity at lower temperatures.

Keyphrases: Lactide polymerization, Zinc and magnesium catalysts, Ligand  diiminate, Diiminate
Modulation de la neurogénèse par la glycine

Vertebrates, from fish to man, have a membrane potential mediated in part by chloride ions (Cl-). One of the first neuronal activity during development of the zebrafish spinal cord is cell depolarisation mediated by chloride extrusion via glycinergic receptors (GlyRs) and GABAergic receptors. This depolarisation is due to the absence of chloride-potassium cotransport channel KCC2, whose expression comes later in development, creating a hyperpolarising gradient. The role of this paradoxal depolarisation period during early stages of development is still unknown. By injecting KCC2 mRNA in newly fertilised zebrafish embryos, we expressed this co-transporter channel in neurons causing glycine to hyperpolarize in early phases of development. We also directly targeted the glycine receptor (GlyR) itself by blocking its activation with a chronic treatment of Strychnine, a specific drug, and by knocking down the expression of this receptor with an antisense morpholino injection. In those three conditions (KCC2, Strychnine and GlyR KD), perturbation of neuronal activity provoked major defects in neurogenesis, particulary in development of interneurons, without affecting other types of cells like motoneurons and sensory neurons. In addition, blocking low-voltage activated calcium channels with nifedipine provoked similar phenotypes. We conclude that the early glycine-mediated depolarisation allow calcium entry, thus activating certain aspects of interneurons neurogenesis.

Keyphrases: Glycine, Neurogenesis, Glycine
Rencontres et figurations allemandes chez Diane-Monique Daviau, Yvon Rivard et Pierre Turgeon

Within the scope of recent work on cultural transfer, Robert Dion devoted a book (L’Allemagne de Liberté: sur la germanophilie des intellectuels québécois, 2007) observing that several contributors of Quebec journal Liberté expressed a perception of Germany mostly tinged with the concept of fascination. In the wake of this study which focuses on articles and essays published in Liberté and concerning Germany, the present thesis provides an in depth analysis of short stories and novels, written by three collaborators from the journal: Diane-Monique Daviau, Yvon Rivard and Pierre Turgeon. Featuring rather extensive references to Germany, their texts offer a perception of the “Other” which can, from the point of view of intercultural studies, be considered in the perspective of an “encounter” between cultures. It is therefore the relationship with the German language, geographical territory, history and literature which we endeavour to characterize, seeking not only to appreciate and describe the nature of the relationship to “otherness”, but also to briefly discuss the formal consequences of a literary staging of the “Other” – polyphonic practices, types of intertextual processes, etc.    This thesis presents innovative thinking on the themes of exile, decentring and migration in contemporary Quebec literature. It links the German framework to the self-investigation performed by the Daviau, Rivard and Turgeon protagonists, revealing that in their personal search, these characters acknowledge their own precariousness, and, in certain cases, a “legacy of poverty” (Yvon Rivard) – two omnipresent themes in Quebec literature.

Keyphrases: Allemagne, filiations, Quebec literature, Germany, intercultural studies, language, memory, intertextuality, filiations
Aspects de l'identité narrative chez Witold Gombrowicz et Virginia Woolf

By the means of Paul Ricœur’s theory on narrative identity, the following thesis will examine the singular conceptions of identity in the works Cosmos and Les envoutés (W. Gombrowicz) as well as To the Lighthouse and The Waves by V. Woolf. On one hand, we will analyze the obsessive serialization behavior that Witold manifests in Cosmos followed by a case of complete loss of one’s self towards otherness. Furthermore, we will scrutinize the family turmoil between James Ramsay (To the Lighthouse) and his family members. Additionally, we will also inspect the adherence and anchoring of three protagonists towards the development of a unique perception of their environment (The Waves). Ultimately, the protagonists recognize that one’s self is intrically linked to individual stories and events that craft their own sense of being.

Keyphrases: W. Gombrowicz, V. Woolf, possession, inscriptions, W. Gombrowicz, V. Woolf, narrative identity, serialization, possession, anchorage
Continuité et métamorphoses du surréalisme bruxellois : la poétique de l’illisible chez Christian Dotremont

The main focus of our research points out the noteworthy longevity of the Belgian surrealist group. Thus, we have chosen to analyze the poetic and artistic works of one of its most important representative, Christian Dotremont. His interartistic poetics (beginning with a surrealist phase and continuing until the invention of the logograms in 1962) is in fact symptomatic for the complete transformation of the Belgian movement. Consequently, the first part of our research examines Dotremont’s contacts and collaborations with the surrealist group (Paul Nougé and René Magritte), mainly interested by subversive creative works. Their negative technique is transformed by Dotremont into experimental art along with his own group founded in 1948, Cobra. The second part of this research would particularly like to draw attention to this evolution from a logocentric artistic point of view in which the word is important for its meaning (Nougé’s “primitive” poetry theory or Magritte’s praxis of “objets bouleversants”) toward Dotremont and Cobra’s discovery of the word as materiality, as scription, and as poetic source. This is the object of the second part of our thesis, where we explore Cobra “poetics of visible”: the pictorial and poetic importance of painted not written texts, words or letters. Cobra collective inventions investigate the aesthetic results of in-between artistic techniques and also emphasize Dotremont progression from a subversive surrealist literary point of view to the invention of logograms. This hybrid creation, the logogram, is examined in detail in the third and last part of our thesis.

Keyphrases: Dotremont, ars combinatoria, illisible, Dotremont, Brussels surrealism, ars combinatoria, subversive objects, community, icontext, illegible, intermediality, language, logograms
Effet des changements du ratio alimentaire oméga-3/oméga-6 dans un modèle d’infarctus du
myocarde reperfusé chez le rat

Apoptosis occurs in the limbic system by a mechanism involving inflammation after a myocardial infarction. Omega-3 are essential fatty acids known for their benefits in cardiovascular health and to reduce inflammation, whereas, omega-6 and their metabolites are more inflammatory. Since these two essential fatty acids are metabolized by the same group of enzymes, the resulting competition would affect the inflammation and thus indirectly the apoptosis. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of different omega-3/6 ratios on the infarct size, inflammation and apoptosis in the limbic system after myocardial infarction. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly between three diet groups containing 1:5, 1:1 and 5:1 omega-3/6 ratios. Rats were fed for two weeks followed by a left anterior descending coronary occlusion for 40 min and by reperfusion time (15 min or 24 h). Infarct size was significantly reduced by 32% and Akt activity, implicated in RISK cardioprotection pathway, enhanced by the 5:1 and 1:1 in comparison to the 1:5 diet ratios. They also reduced TNF-D plasma concentration. In the limbic system, caspase-3 enzymatic activity was doubled in CA1 after 15 min and in CA1 and dentate gyrus (Dg), after 24 h, in the 1:5 compared to 1:1 and 5:1 groups. Caspase-8 enzymatic activity was increased in Dg and capase-9 was enhanced in the CA1 at both reperfusion time in the 1:5 against the 1:1 and 5:1 groups. Conclusion: High omega-3 dietary ratio helps to reduce infarct size, inflammation and to prevent apoptosis in the limbic system.

Keyphrases: inflammation, Omega-3/6 ratio, Diet, Myocardial infarction, Apoptosis, Limbic system, Inflammation
Étude du rôle de Pax6 dans la gliogenèse

Astrocytes, a subtype of glial cells present in the central nervous system, have multiple physiological functions and are involved in the response to lesions and in several brain pathologies. Astrocytes are generated by radial glia cells, the common precursors of most neural and glial cells of the brain, after the beginning of neurons production. The transition from neurogenesis to gliogenesis is the result of complex molecular mechanisms induced by both intrinsic and extrinsic signals responsible for the change of precursors properties and commitment. The Pax6 gene encodes a highly conserved transcription factor, involved in several aspects of central nervous system development, such as regionalization and neurogenesis. It is expressed from the earliest stages in the neuroepithelial cells (neural stem cells) and in their more differentiated radial glia progeny. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of Pax6 in the differentiation and development of astrocytes. By using a Pax6 null mutant mouse, we obtained results suggesting that the suppression of this gene increases the proliferation and the self-renewal ability of embryonic neural stem cells. In vitro mutant cells overproliferate and overexpress p57Kip2, p16Ink4a, p19Arf et p21Cip1 genes, which inhibit the cell cycle progression. Moreover Pax6 promotes astrocytic differentiation of embryonic neural stem cells and is required for astrocyte differentiation in spinal cord. Pax6 null mutants die after birth because of severe developmental defects, due to the essential functions of this gene in embryonic development of several organs. Using a conditional mutant mouse of Pax6 in radial glia (hGFAP-CRE/ Pax6flox/flox, based on site-specific Cre/loxP-mediated gene excision), which is viable after birth, we obtained evidences showing that Pax6 is involved in astrocyte maturation and postnatal development. The cerebral cortex of sixteen-day-old conditional mutant mice doesn’t present mature astrocytes, and the three-month-old mice cortex presents only few immature astrocytes, suggesting that Pax6 promotes astrocyte differentiation and maturation. Moreover Pax6 seems to play a role also in the maturation and differentiation of retinal glial cells. The identification of genes and molecular pathways involved in the generation of astrocytes is crucial to better understand the physiological function and pathological alterations of these cells.

Keyphrases: Astrocytes, Astrocytes, Gliogenesis, Development, Central nervous system, Neural stem cells, Pax6, Pax6, Transcription factor, Nul mutant mouse, Conditional mutant mouse, CRE/ loxP system
Contraction et décontraction des décharges micro-ondes entretenues à la pression atmosphérique

Plasma columns sustained at high pressures (p > 10 Torr) by an electric field (of constant or varying intensity) are affected by the contraction phenomena (reduction of the radial section of the discharge) and filamentation (breaking of the plasma column into several filaments). The understanding of these phenomena and the development of methods to suppress them are essential steps in the optimization of some plasma processes.  In this context, the initial objective of our work was to determine the mechanisms at the origin of plasma contraction and filamentation in rare gas discharges. Along that line, we have shown that the discharge kinetics of micro-wave contracted plasmas is controlled by the presence of molecular ions and that contraction relates to the influence of the radial gradient of gas temperature on the concentration of these ions. In addition, we have evidenced that filamentation shows up whenever the radial inhomogeneity of the electric field intensity becomes important enough.  In a second step, we have developed a method for eliminating plasma contraction and filamentation. It consists in adding to a contracted rare-gas discharge, a small amount of another rare gas having a lower ionization potential. In the case of the expanded plasmas obtained in this way, the discharge kinetics has been shown to be no longer controlled by molecular ions, thereby confirming their essential role in the contraction mechanism.  Finally, we have extended to atmospheric pressure the technique of optical absorption that uses a spectral lamp to measure metastable-atom and resonant-atom densities. Until now, this technique has been used only at gas pressures lower than 10 Torr. Our interest in measuring metastable-state atom density is related to their participation in the step-wise ionization of contracted plasmas while, in expanded discharges, the fact that are desexcited by collisions with the added gas atoms is the essential step in modifying the kinetics of the discharge and preventing it to contract.

Keyphrases: Atmospheric pressure, Plasma contraction, Plasma filamentation, Elimination of contraction and filamentation, Metastable-state atoms, Molecular ions, Volume recombination
Étude de l’infection lytique du Virus Epstein-Barr dans le développement de tumeurs post-greffe

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised transplant patients. In these patients EBV infection can lead to malignant B-cell lymphoproliferation, called post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD). This thesis project aimed to investigate the role of lytic EBV infection in the genesis of PTLD. The first experimental objective was to provide in vitro proof that EBV could induce productive replication upon acute in vitro infection of B cells. Data obtained through study of viral DNA replication and transcription during the first 96 hours post-infection indicate that lytic infection does occur. These results provided justification for proceeding to the second experimental objective which involved the characterization of an anti-gp350 human-mouse chimeric antibody for its capacity to recognize and neutralize EBV.  Results showed that this antibody did possess neutralization activity. Further study of this anti-gp350 chimeric antibody in SCID mice is necessary in order to evaluate its in vivo efficacy against PTLD.

Keyphrases: Epstein-Barr Virus, Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, Lytic cycledisease, Chimeric monoclonal antibody, Neutralization, Preventive therapy
Polyoxométallates hybrides : vers des systèmes covalents photoactifs dans le visible

We are interested in the photocatalytic production of clean energy sources, such as H2, in order to ensure global sustainable development. We focused our attention on molecular bio-inspired systems, capable of : (i) efficient light harvesting, based on the careful design of multi-nuclear supramolecular photoactive units; (ii) efficient energy transfer to the catalyst, chosen for its ability to perform multi-electronic processes needed in fuels production. We chose inorganic-organic covalent hybrids, constituted of visible-photoactivated POMs by transition metal complexes. First, we designed and studied Ru(II) dinuclear complexes, based on the electrodeficient motif 1,3,5-triazine, for their energy transfer properties and extended excited-state lifetimes. Then, the covalent connection, to ensure between sub-units, compelled us to design new ditopic polydentate ligands. This flexible synthetic methodology gave access to a family of POMs presenting various types of coordination sites (from monodentate to tridentate), in order to allow complexation of different metals. Complexation studies on the new POMs were conducted and aimed at : (i) photoinduced charge transfer systems (complexation of Ru, and Re) ; (ii) photocatalytic (complexation of Re and Co) and/or electrocatalytic systems (complexation of Co). Metal-directed self-assembling of POMs (guided by Pd(II) or Re(I)) and the coordination geometry of the POMs building-block, has also been studied, as a tool in the building-up of electro- and photoactive supramolecular systems. The model systems studied will be used to design molecular multi-functional hybrid materials.

Keyphrases: triazine, polypyridines, photocatalyse, polyoxometalates, inorganic-organic hybrids, light-harvesting devices, ruthenium, triazine, polypyridines, photocatalysis, metal-directed self-assembling