NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Le Mercosur et la protection de la propriété intellectuelle : formation, évolution historique et importance dans ses relations internationales

Since the beginning of its history, the human being seeks, for many reasons, to join and develop the environment where he lives. These features, culminating in the phenomena of globalization and technological revolution, were responsible for the decrease in physical and temporal distances of the contemporary world. These factors have stimulated the regional integration processes, which are intended to strengthen its members to deal with a new global reality. Among these processes, we note the Mercosur aimed at creating a common market between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Based on its inter-governability and with a defined organizational structure, the economic bloc has an evolving normative framework, constantly seeking legal security in various sectors. As for the protection of intellectual property rights, there is an old concern of the region on the subject. However, few standards exist within the block granting minimum individual rights and most of them are not integrated in the national laws, which are aligned with international treaties.  In its international relations, Mercosur has a long history of negotiations with the European Union and a timid story with Canada, in which attention to intellectual property rights is not uniform. Moreover, its participation in international organizations responsible for these rights is weak. Thus, even with an uncertain future Mercosur has great expectations. However, the concern to protect intellectual property rights is present and real and starts to grow in its internal and external relationships.

Keyphrases: Mercosur, Canada, OMC, OMPI, Intellectual Property, Mercosur, European Union, Canada, WTO, WIPO
Écriture, altérité et identité dans La quarantaine de JMG Le Clézio

The work of JMG Le Clézio can be characterised by its perpetual evolution. It defies standard classification, maintaining a subversive and independent status. This writer’s work reflects a diversity of influences that have marked him, the challenges he has faced, and the major themes in which he has set his writing.      In the first chapter examining the 1995 publication, La quarantaine, we will discuss Le Clézio’s reinvention of his own writing, in order to resolve the problem of impurities in the language that characterized his earlier work, prior to the 1980s. In the second chapter of this study, literary, familial and historic themes that mark this novel as a “filiation story” will be analysed. This shift in literary style is demonstrated in La quarantaine by its insistence on the importance of the “other,” traditional people of non-western culture; their lifestyle prompts reflection on the identity crisis of the western individual.      In the third chapter of this study we will address the identity issues raised in Le Clézio’s novel through an initiation experience in which the protagonist in La quarantaine is engaged at a time of significant rebirth in his life. His quest is for self-actualisation, for an emancipation that will serve to reconcile the modern individual with himself.

Keyphrases: Le Clézio, Le Clézio, La quarantaine, La quarantaine, Writing, Filiation, Filiation, Otherness, Individu, Individual, Identity, Non-western, Initiation, Initiation, Emancipation
Facteurs de risque liés à la criminalité violente chez les contrevenants psychotiques des prisons québécoises

During the past decades, many studies have confirmed the existence of a relationship between severe and persistent mental disorders (SPMD) and the commission of violent crimes. Risk factors associated with violence in mentally disordered violent offenders are: alcohol and drug consumption, depression and personality disorders. However, no study has been conducted among inmates serving short sentences in Québec’s jails, to see if these findings apply to them. Our study attempts to verify whether the same risk factors are associated with violence among psychotic inmates of Quebec’s correctional facilities. The RAMQ and DACOR files of 121 incarcerated offenders were analyzed to answer the research question. To begin, descriptive and bi-variate analyses were conducted. Then, logistic regressions were carried out to identify the best predictors of violent behaviours among Québec’s psychotic offenders. It seems that it is criminal antecedents and psychotropic drugs rather than comorbid mental disorders that distinguish the violent from the non-violent psychotic offenders in Québec’s jails. A possible explanation for this observation is that physicians prescribe drugs in function of the presence of specific symptoms rather than in function of axis I or axis II diagnosis. Moreover, significant differences were found between men and women.

Keyphrases: psychotic disorders, violence, violence, Quebec’s correctional facilities, psychotropic drugs, illicit drugs, criminal antecedents
La nutrition des personnes âgées en stades précoces de la démence du type Alzheimer (DTA) : exploration du rôle du proche aidant et des répercussions sur sa santé

Background: The progressive decline in nutritional status related to the loss of autonomy commonly observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may be limited by an effective caregiver. In the long term, the caregiver’s role may affect his own physical and psychological health. Objectives: (1) to describe the demographic characteristics of patients and their caregivers; (2) to examine the evolution of the disease and study variables during the follow-up period; (3) to explore the possible relationship between the caregiver’s perceived burden, the nutritional status of patients and the stability of caregiver’s body weight.  Hypotheses: The absence of caregiver burden is associated with better nutritional status in patients; the decline of cognitive function in patients is accompanied by an increase in the caregiver’s perceived burden; and an increased caregiver burden leads to a loss of body weight.  Methods: We analysed data from the “Nutrition-memory” study carried out between 2003 and 2006 in the three university hospital memory clinics in Montréal. Forty-two community dwelling patients with probable AD and their informal caregivers were followed as dyads for a period of eighteen months. Analyses focused on data collected from recruitment to twelve months later because of the limited number of patients interviewed at the last measurement. The relation between caregiver burden and the variables characterizing the nutritional status in patients was assessed using correlation analysis, chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. The patient’s cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination, caregiver burden was estimated by the Zarit Burden Interview, and the nutritional status of patients was defined by their adequacy in energy and proteins intake, the elderly nutrition screening score, weight and body mass index of patients.  Results: The caregiver’s perceived burden was associated with the energy adequacy in patients. The number of patients with inadequate intake of energy was higher among dyads caregivers who perceived a higher burden. No association was found between the caregiver’s burden and the nutritional risk or protein adequacy in patients. The deterioration of patient’s cognitive function does not seem to have led to an increased caregiver burden. In addition, increased caregiver burden was not accompanied by weight loss. Moreover, a greater burden was observed among caregivers of patients who were overweight or obese. Conclusion: Reducing perceived caregiver burden could improve dietary intake of patients and thereby limit or minimize the risk of deterioration of their nutritional status and weight loss.

Keyphrases: Alzheimer's disease, Informal caregiver, Burden, Zarit burden interview, Dietary intake, Nutritional status, Elderly nutrition screening, Old people
Vérification des liens entre les stresseurs, le soutien social, la santé psychologique au travail et la qualité de la relation élève-enseignant

An optimal student-teacher relationship (STR) is generally recognized as being  closer and less conflictual. In the scientific documentation, many studies show that the  quality of the STR is significantly associated with several indicators of school performance.  More precisely, the results of these investigations demonstrate that the more a student share  an optimal relationship with his teacher, the higher are his results at tests and exams, the  more he adopts prosocial behaviors, and the more he presents positive affects and behaviors  towards school and learning. Many studies also show that the influence of the quality of the  STR is more important for students at-risk.     However, even if the positive effects of an optimal STR on school performance are  known, the knowledge about the factors that facilitate its emergence is still very limited.  Although some predictors related to personal attributes of students or teachers have been  highlighted, few studies have investigated the importance of psychological and contextual  predictors of this phenomena. In an attempt to alleviate this deficiency, this research  pursues three objectives that are : 1) to verify the relationship between stressors, social  support, psychological health at work (PHW) and the quality of the STR; 2) to examine the  moderating effect of PHW in the relationship between stressors, social support and the  quality of the STR, and; 3) to verify the differences highlighted in the results for regular  and at-risk students.  In order to verify these three objectives, 231 teachers from the province of Quebec  teaching in kindergarten and elementary school have been studied. The results from the  analyses show that the disruptive behaviors of students in class predict positively the  conflict between teachers and students at-risk. The results also show that social support  from parents is positivelly related to closeness for regular students, whereas social support  from the director is positivelly related to closeness for students at-risk. Teacher’s PHW also  predicts positively closeness and negatively conflict for both regular and at-risk students.  The results of the analyses also demonstrate that social support is indirectly related to  closeness for regular and at-risk students, through PHW.

Keyphrases: Well-being at work, School climate, Psychological distress, School management, School performance, Stress, Student at-risk
Effets de l’ovariectomie et de l’activité physique sur l’homéostasie du glucose chez les rates ZDF

Introduction: Menopause is associated with insulin resistance and increased risks of type 2 diabetes in healthy human subjects. However, little is known about its effects on glucose homeostasis in insulin-resistant subjects. Aims: Our aim was to study 1) the effects of ovariectomy and 2) voluntary physical activity on glucose homeostasis in ZDF (Zucker diabetic fatty) female rats, a well-known animal model of insulin resistance and diabetes. Methodology: Twenty-four rats were fed and housed in standard cages during 28 days after which they either underwent an ovariectomy (Ovx) or a sham operation (SHAM-Inactive, n=8). The ovariectomized rats either engaged in voluntary wheel cage running (OVX-Active, n=8) or remained inactive (OVX-Inactive, n=8) for the following 44 days. Results: Fed glycaemia at day 56 was significantly increased by Ovx (p<0.01) and lowered back to control level in OVX-Active rats (p<0.01). Ovx significantly decreased insulin-stimulated muscle glucose uptake (0.63 ± 0.08 vs 1.13 ± 0.27 μmol•g-1•h-1). OVX-Inactive rats also showed increased triglyceride (p<0.001) and lower glycogen (p<0.001) contents in their liver whereas pancreatic insulin content was increased (p<0.05) as compared to SHAM-Inactive rats. Training markedly improved glucose tolerance (p<0.01) and insulin-stimulated muscle glucose uptake (p<0.05) as compared to SHAM-Inactive rats. Ovx-induced alterations in pancreatic insulin content (p<0.01) and liver glycogen (p<0.05) were improved by physical activity. Conclusion: Our data suggest that ovariectomy-induced loss of ovarian estrogens impairs glucose homeostasis in female ZDF rats without triggering overt type 2 diabetes. Physical activity improves glucose homeostasis despite the estrogen loss.

Keyphrases: Ovariectomy, Exercice, Exercise, Estrogen receptors, Voluntary running, Muscle glucose uptake, Menopause
Working memory in Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) : assessment and intervention

The principal aim of this dissertation is to investigate and intervene upon working memory (WM) impairments in two clinical populations: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The dissertation is comprised of three empirical articles. The goal of the first study was to examine WM impairments in normal aging, MCI and AD using two versions of the complex span task: sentence span and operation span. In addition, the effect of forgetting was assessed by manipulating the length of the retention interval. Results indicate impaired WM on complex spans in MCI and, to a greater extent, in AD. Data also support a role for forgetting within WM. Increasing the retention interval augmented deficit in persons with AD, and showed potential in predicting a negative prognosis in those with MCI. The objective of the second article was to investigate the feasibility of a computerized cognitive training paradigm for the attentional control component of WM in healthy older individuals and those with MCI. Data from this experiment revealed positive effects of the intervention for both groups. However, the absence of a control group limited interpretation of results. Based on those data, the third article aimed to implement a double-blind randomized controlled study of training of attentional control in MCI with executive deficits. This involved a dual-task paradigm comprised of a visual detection task and a visual alpha-arithmetic judgment task. While the control group performed simple dual-task practice over six one-hour sessions, the experimental group received variable-priority training, in which participants managed their attentional control by varying the proportion of attentional resources allocated to each task. Results show a significant effect of intervention on one of the two tasks involved (accuracy on the visual detection task) and a trend for transfer to another task of divided attention, but little generalization to other tasks of attention. In summary, the original data reported in this thesis demonstrates WM impairment in age-related disorders, with a gradient between MCI and AD, and suggest preserved plasticity of attentional capacities in persons at risk of developing dementia.

Keyphrases: Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's disease, Intervention, Complex Span, Assessment, Cognitive training, Attentional control, Working memory
Le rendu en demi-ton avec sensibilité à la structure

In this work we present an original error-diffusion method which produces visually pleasant halftone images while preserving ﬁne details and visually identiﬁable structures present in original images. We ﬁrst present and analyze the previous work to show the major problems in halftoning, and explain why we decided to use an error diffusion algorithm to solve the problems. Then we present our method which is conceptually simple and computationally efﬁcient. The source image is analyzed, and its local frequency content is detected. The main components of the frequency content (main frequency, orientation, and contrast) serve as lookup table indices in a pre-computed database of modiﬁcations to a standard error diffusion. The modiﬁcations comprise threshold modulation and variation of error-diffusion coefﬁcients. The whole system is calibrated in such a way that the produced halftone images are visually close to original images (patches of constant intensity, patches containing sinu- soidal waves of different frequencies/orientations/contrasts, as well as natural images of different origins). Finally, we compare and analyze the results obtained by our method and previous work, and show that our method can produre high-quality halftone image (which is struc- ture aware) within very short time.

Keyphrases: Calibration, Halftoning, Error diffusion, Structure aware, Threshold, Calibration, Analysis, Frequency content
Détection des augmentations de 5 et de 10% de la dépense énergétique totale : comparaison des estimations de deux accéléromètres

Obesity and physical inactivity are considered significant public health problems. Increasing physical activity is one strategy recommended to induce a positive energy balance in weight loss interventions. Two accelerometers, the Sensewear Armband (SWA) and Actical (ACT), are simple tools to use in research, but to our knowledge, no studies have assessed their capacity to detect increases in energy expenditure. Moreover, very few studies, and with conflicting results, have been conducted to determine the reliability of these accelerometers for the measurement of resting energy expenditure and physical activity energy expenditure on a stationary bicycle. Thus the objectives of this study were as follows : 1) evaluate, during 3 consecutive days, the reproducibility of values of energy expenditure obtained with the SWA and the ACT, at rest and during physical activity for 45 minutes on a stationary bicycle, 2) determine the capacity of these accelerometers to detect increases of 5% and 10% in total energy expenditure (TEE) obtained  by modifying an activity on a treadmill for 45 minutes. This cross-sectional study conducted with 20 healthy subjects, aged 20-32 years with an average BMI of 23 kg/m2, consisted of 5 visits to the clinic. The last 3 visits, under direct supervision for 10 hours, included programmed physical activities on a stationary bicycle and on a treadmill for 45 minutes. The results show that the SWA and the ACT provide values which are reproducible for estimating resting energy expenditure and physical activity energy expenditure on the stationary bicycle (intra-class correlations, p<0,001). However, for pre-established increases in TEE of 5% and 10%, corresponding estimations obtained were 1.4% and 7.8% with the SWA and 3.4% and 13.1% with the ACT. The SWA underestimates increases of 5% and 10% and the ACT underestimates increases of 5% and overestimates increases of 10% of TEE. More research is needed before confirming the use of the SWA and the ACT in the estimation of increases in total energy expenditure.

Keyphrases: Energy expenditure, Physical activity, Accelerometers
La composition au moyen des quarts de ton

La composition au moyen des quarts de ton gives the results of research conducted by the composer Pascal Berger in pursuing the following objective: to compose a major microtonal work for large orchestra.   The orchestra used for this work is a special one: half of the wind instruments are tuned a quarter-tone lower than the other half; from the beginning to the end of the work, the instruments tuned a quarter tone lower only play notes lowered or raised by a quarter tone while the other half of the instruments (normally tuned) only play normal notes from the usual semi-tone scale. The main work is titled L’orchestre par quarts de ton, lasts approximately twenty minutes and consists of the following four movements: Gigues; Choral; Pointillismes; Lignes furtives et cornemuse géante. Other works composed during the doctoral program are:  - Polyphonies microtonales, for winds and percussions, half of the wind instruments tuned a quarter-tone lower than the other half; - Explorations microtonales, for ensemble, half of the wind instruments tuned a quarter-tone lower than the other half; - Miniatures microtonales for flute and clarinet, the flute tuned a quarter-tone lower than the clarinet; - Quarter-tone flavor, for timpani solo; - Mordants et oscillations, a second work for an orchestra identical to the one described above, that is to say in which half of the wind instruments are tuned a quarter-tone lower than the other half;  - Vagues, a third work for an orchestra identical to the one described above.   The text of the thesis is divided into three sections: one section discusses the rationale for choosing the quarter-tone scale; a second section outlines the steps that led to the development of the harmonic language used in the works –delineation of the consonant and dissonant intervals from the quarter-tone scale; chord construction, chord progression and harmonic layering - and a third section focuses on works composed and presented to the jury.  In addition, a foreword provides the context that led the composer to focus so intensely on quarter-tones, and an appendix consists of five texts on the following topics: the concept of "partial" and its importance for the research subject; the accuracy of intonation and the acoustics foundations of the quarter-tone scale; consonance and dissonance of the intervals of the quarter-ton scale; a short essay on other composers’ experiments with micro-intervals; and finally, a few definitions: musical scale, tempered tuning and musical space.

Keyphrases: Music, Composition, Composition, Quarts de ton, Quarter tones, Microtonal, Micro-intervals, Harmony, Orchestre, Orchestra, Orchestration, Orchestration
Le processus d’élaboration des politiques publiques de retraite au Canada et au Québec de 2003 à 2008

Research in Industrial Relations rarely focuses on labour market policies. When they do exist, these studies generally focus on the effectiveness of these policies. This thesis illustrates the importance of understanding how these public policies come about. A case study was conducted on pension laws and by-laws in Quebec and Canada between 2003 and 2008 to better understand the process of policymaking. Pensions were targeted because of the dramatic socio-economic changes taking place in Canada at the time, the aging population and changes in pension fund returns for example. This issue was also chosen because it is a responsibility shared between the federal and provincial governments and between the public and private sectors.   To study the issue, Industrial Relations and Economics theories were considered. However, John Kingdon’s Multiple Stream theory was chosen as the theoretical basis of this thesis. Kingdon is an American political scientist. His theory, which postulates that political entrepreneurs need to attract attention on problems, control the debate on considered policies and gain support for their views if they want to influence public policy. The results of the case study confirm Kingdon’s theory.   The major contribution of this thesis was to identify the different types of actors involved in the pension policymaking process, the strategies these actors have used to achieve their goals and the results of their efforts.

Keyphrases: Canada, Pensions, Policy, Canada, Quebec, Policy entrepreneur, Multiple Streams Theory