NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Perceptions infirmières quant à la réalisation de la collecte des données auprès de la clientèle à l'urgence, étape préalable à la formulation du jugement clinique infirmier

Since the enactment of Bill 90 in 2002, the Nurses Act (section 36) gives nurses greater autonomy by recognizing their competency and responsibility in clinical assessment, featured in this Act as the corner stone of the nursing profession (Pellerin, 2009; OIIQ, 2010). Assessment constitutes a fundamental step in the clinical assessment process (Dillon, 2007; Doyon, Brûlé & Cloutier, 2002; Pellerin, 2009; Weber & Kelley, 2007). The emergency nurses have a major responsibility with regard to patient assessment. In fact, they work with patients of all ages that have various health problems that can be acute and sometimes urgent, and they must intervene, according to their clinical assessment, before a diagnosis has been established or the patient has seen a doctor (Newberry & Criddle, 2005). Yet, despite the importance now conferred by law on clinical assessment, this role has yet to be accepted as an integral part of clinical nursing. The aim of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore the perceptions of nurses, nursing managers and clinical resource nurses  with regard to assessment. The clinical standard of the Emergency Nurses Association for patient assessment (1999) is the frame of reference for this study. Five 60-minute individual semi-structured interviews and a 90-minute discussion group were conducted with emergency nurses. A second discussion group included two nursing managers and two emergency clinical resource nurses. The data collected were analysed using the approach proposed by Miles and Huberman (2003). The results obtained show that nurses view patient assessment as a fundamental part of their emergency responsibilities that influences the improvement of the quality and security of the care given. However, the results also revealed that their understanding of assessment varies, and that this practice is random and largely influenced by the biomedical model. Several factors influence nursing practice regarding patient assessment, in particular: individual notions of assessment and the role of nurses, the relations and interactions between members of the nursing team and other professionals, as well as the support of the organisation and the nursing managers. This last is a leading factor in the context of the emergency department and shows that the support of the nursing managers and clinical resource nurses has an important impact on practice in clinical settings. This study proposes further areas of study focused on academic training, continuing professional education, nursing management and inter-professional collaboration that could facilitate the actualisation of nurses’ roles concerning patient assessment to improve the quality of care provided in the emergency department.

Keyphrases: Health assesment, Nursing assessment, Emergency nursing, Qualitative study
Mouvement biologique et entraînement perceptivo-cognitif chez les personnes âgées

When searching for a friend in a crowd or waiting for a loved one at the train station, we often rely heavily on their gait to identify them. The movements of the human body have generated much research interest, and biological motion has been used to study these displacements. Biological motion is described by points at each joint and provides a representation of an individual during a particular action (walking, playing golf, tennis, etc.). Size is one of the defining characteristics of biological motion patterns, and yet, has been overlooked. Most work has used small patterns, corresponding to a person moving at a distance of 16 m from the observer, but much of our social interactions occur at distances closer than this. Furthermore, our representations of the environment can change as we age, but studies assessing the effects of age on the perception of biological motion have yielded inconsistent results. Therefore, using a fully immersive virtual-reality environment, our first goal was to evaluate the impact of distance between observer and pattern, on biological motion perception in both young and older adults. Results indicate that identifying walking direction becomes difficult at distances closer than 4 m for older observers, whereas performance is maintained in younger participants at all distances further away than 1m. This suggests that older participants exhibit difficulty when information must be integrated across a large expanse of their visual field, which could impede them in any situation where interactions occur within a distance of 4m. Much work has suggested further, that older participants adapt to complex environments with greater difficulty. The second goal was to minimize this age-related change to the integration of complex scenes, by using a task devised to both train and assess such integration processes: Multiple Object Tracking in 3-dimentional space, or 3D-MOT. 3D-MOT consists of tracking several moving objects of interest, among similarly moving distractors. In a 3-D virtual-reality environment, we measured the maximum speed at which the objects could travel, for younger and older observers to complete the task with no errors. Initial results indicated that older observers’ performance was worse than that of younger observers. However, after several weeks of training, older observers’ performance improved and became similar to that of untrained younger observers.  Finally, our third goal was to evaluate, for these 3D-MOT-trained older observers, the effect of training on biological motion perception at distances of 16 and 4m in virtual space. Findings indicate that performance at 4 m, for older observers who received 3D-MOT training, improved significantly to reach 16 m levels. This suggests that training of this type can reduce age-related perceptuo-cognitive deficits and can possibly aid the elderly in their daily travels.

Keyphrases: 3D-MOT, CVU, distance, Biological motion, aging, UFOV, virtual reality
Le raisonnement sociomoral à l’adolescence : la contribution spécifique des fonctions exécutives

Sociomoral reasoning (SMR) is an important skill during adolescence because it guides social decisions, facilitating social functioning. A number of sociocognitive and socioemotional factors are likely to underlie the evolution of SMR abilities; however their relative contribution remains unclear given that to date their roles have typically been explored in isolation. This study explores the underpinnings of SMR maturity in typically developing adolescents and the specific contribution of executive functions using an ecologically valid tool for assessment in the adolescent population. We detected four independent contributors of SMR maturity in healthy adolescence: age, intelligence, cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency, as well as gender differences in SMR maturity and sociomoral decision-making. Taken together, the findings of this study contribute to better understanding moral development during adolescence and highlight the importance of using ecologically valid tools to measure social skills.

Keyphrases: Adolescence, Moral reasoning, Executive functioning, Social functioning
Les systèmes Xer à une seule recombinase

The chromosome dimers produced during the repair of circular chromosomes can be harmful to bacteria by blocking the segregation of the chromosome and cell division.  To overcome this problem, bacteria use the Xer system for the monomerisation of chromosome dimers.  It has two components, XerC and XerD, which act on the dif site and complete a recombination that will lead to the separation of the two copies of the DNA.  The dif site is a DNA sequence where two imperfect inverted repeats separated by six base pairs allow the binding of each recombinase.  This recombination is regulated by the protein FtsK, an essential member of the cell division machinery.  The Xer system has been well studied in Escherichia coli and has also been characterized in a variety of species, for example Bacillus subtilis.  Furthermore, in certain species of Streptococcus, studies have identified only a single recombinase, XerS, which acts on an atypical site named difSL in order to monomerize dimeric chromosomes.  Not long after, a second system using a single recombinase was identified in a group of epsilon-proteobacteria.  This recombinase was named XerH and the recombination site, difH, was found to more similar to difSL than to the classical dif sites.  In this thesis, results from in vitro experiments on both systems are presented, as well as some results from in vivo experiments.  We show that XerS is capable of binding cooperatively to difSL and that this binding is asymmetrical.  This is because XerS is able to bind to the left half of the site but not to the right half when they are separated.  The cleavage by XerS is also asymmetrical, as it is more efficient on the bottom strand.  As for XerH, its binding to difH is much less cooperative and doesn’t have the same asymmetry.  But the cleavage is also asymmetrical like the one seen in XerS.  Comparing the two systems show that they are not homologuous and that more than one version of Xer systems using a single recombinase exists.  These results represent the first discovery of an 11 bases pairs spacer for tyrosine recombinase.  It is also the first in vitro studies of XerH.

Keyphrases: tyrosine recombinase, XerS, difSL, XerH, difH, XerCD, Site-specific recombination
Effet de la surexpression du gène Hoxb4 sur la prolifération homéostatique des cellules T mémoires

Memory T cells (Tm) protect the organism against reinfection from pathogens they’ve already encountered. Tm share characteristics with hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), such as the capacity to differentiate, self-renew and maintain a relatively constant population via homeostatic mechanisms. Hoxb4, a member of the Hox genes family of transcription factors, has been shown to expand HSCs rapidly in vivo and in vitro. Thus, drawing from these parallels we hypothesise that Hoxb4 overexpression could lead to expansion of Tm populations. Tm and naïve T cell (Tn) populations were analysed in the lymphoid organs of young and aged transgenic mice overexpressing Hoxb4 in comparison with wild type (wt) mice. While the frequencies of mature Hoxb4 T cells in lymphoid organs seemed to decline with age, the phenotype or the cell viability remained unaffected. Next, CD4+CD44hi Hoxb4 Tm were transferred into T cell deficient (CD3-/-) hosts in competition with wt CD4+CD44hi Tm and evaluated for their contribution to T cell reconstitution after 2 months. Engraftment of wt Tm in secondary lymphoid organs was slightly higher than Hoxb4 Tm (~60%). Functional assays and phenotypic analysis showed that Hoxb4 Tm exhibited normal functionality, but in contrast to wt Tm, a fraction of Hoxb4 Tm exhibited a more central memory (Tcm) phenotype, indicative of a longer lifespan. Total lymph nodes from hosts were serially re-transplanted for three generations. The Tcm phenotype of the Hoxb4 Tm present in the primary hosts was recapitulated in the secondary but not in the tertiary hosts. The ratios remained in favor of the wt Tm after two subsequent expansion rounds, but Hoxb4 Tm showed a competitive advantage over wt Tm in some quaternary hosts. Cell tracking of a short term transplantation of Hoxb4 and wt Tm in competition exposed a small population of CD62Lhi cells displaying slow proliferation in the Hoxb4 Tm only. Thus preferential CD4+ Tcm expansion by selection or differentiation could potentially allow Hoxb4 Tm to persist longer following serial transplantations due to a more quiescent state.

Keyphrases: Memory T cells, Homeostasis, Hox genes, Hematopoietic stem cells, Lymphopenia
L’influence de la mobilité sur la construction du sentiment d’appartenance territoriale : le cas de l’arrondissement Plateau-Mont-Royal

This master’s thesis focuses on the study of the development of a sense of belonging to a neighborhood in the context of increasing mobility of people. Through this work, we will observe the forms taken by this sense of belonging while the boundaries of everyday life are constantly being pushed and that people are less anchored permanently on territory. Therefore, the relevance of the neighborhood is questionable. The study took for its analytical framework the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough because of its unusual nature, because it is an actual model in terms of high mobility of its residents, and because it is a perceived significant sense of place. To foster reflection, interviews were conducted with ten borough residents recruited during a citizen’s meeting. These interviews helped to understand that the mobility of residents does not meet the tangent of the growth. The flexibility and freedom to have the choice to leave a place of residence are valued skills, but the residential stability remains sought after. This discrepancy is part of a particular approach, that of living in a lifestyle where the neighborhood is prioritized through daily mobility. In this context, the sense of belonging is developed for the lifestyle, promoting a set of values rather than a place. Under this approach, the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough is playing a second role, representing a catalyst and a showcase for this lifestyle, thus facilitating the coming together of people in shared values.

Keyphrases: Plateau-Mont-Royal, Sense of belonging, Mobility, Neighborhood, Lifestyle
Effets directs et aigus de médicaments insulinosensibilisateurs sur la cellule bêta
des îlots pancréatiques : de l’outil de recherche à l’identification de la décélération métabolique comme mode d’action

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) appears when insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells fails to compensate for insulin resistance. Two classes of anti-diabetic drugs have been used to target insulin resistance: biguanides (metformin) and thiazolidinediones (pioglitazone and rosiglitazone). Some studies suggest that these compounds also protect β-cell function. In order to identify the mechanisms whereby insulin-sensitizing agents protect β-cell function, we used INS 832/13 insulin secreting cells and isolated pancreatic rat islets to study the acute effects of pioglitazone and metformin on β-cell metabolism and function. Key observations obtained with pioglitazone were also validated in vivo in Wistar rats with the use of glucose clamps and indirect calorimetry. In vitro, acute pioglitazone or metformin treatment inhibits glucose-induced insulin secretion by lowering β-cell sensitivity to glucose (inhibition only at sub-maximal glucose concentrations). The same treatments also inhibit parameters of nutrient mitochondrial metabolism and, in the case of pioglitazone, parameters of lipid metabolism. Both compounds alter metabolism following a pattern similar to that observed with insulin secretion, a pattern that we label “metabolic deceleration”. Pioglitazone also acutely inhibits insulin secretion and slows down mitochondrial metabolism in vivo. In conclusion, we identified metabolic deceleration of the pancreatic β-cell as a new mode of action for insulin-sensitizing agents. Pioglitazone and metformin both seem to cause metabolic deceleration of the β-cell via inhibition of mitochondrial metabolism. This mode of action could participate in the beneficial effects of these compounds in the context of metabolic stress. The fact that these drugs affect both insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion, the two major components of T2D, may explain why they are among the most powerful anti-diabetic agents. Metabolic deceleration is a new therapeutic approach worth considering for the treatment of T2D and other metabolic diseases.

Keyphrases: Thiazolidinedione, Pioglitazone, AMPK, PPARgamma, Type 2 diabetes, Pancreatic beta-cell, Insulin secretion, Metabolism, Thiazolidinedione, Pioglitazone, Metformin, AMPK, PPARgamma, Metabolic deceleration
Activité des cellules souches : identification de nouveaux effecteurs dans le système hématopoïétique

Somatic stem cells usually exhibit a very different behavior compared to pluripotent stem cells. The molecular basis of embryonic stem cell self-renewal was recently decrypted by the relative straightforwardness with which we can now purify and maintain these cells in culture for long periods of time. However, this is not the case with hematopoietic stem cells. In order to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal, I developed a novel gain-of-function screening strategy, which bypasses some constraints found with these cells. Starting from a list of more than 700 candidate nuclear factors and asymmetric division factors, I have identified 24 new factors that increase hematopoietic stem cell activity when overexpressed. I have also found that nine of these factors act extrinsically to hematopoietic stem cells, i.e., the effect comes from the engineered feeder cells in co-culture. Moreover, I have revealed a new transcriptional regulatory network including five of the factors identified, i.e., PRDM16, SPI1, KLF10, FOS and TFEC. This network is particularly similar to that involved in osteoclastogenesis. These results raise the hypothesis that osteoclasts might also be part of the functional hematopoietic stem cell niche in the bone marrow. Furthermore, I have identified a second regulatory network involving SOX4, SMARCC1 and several factors previously identified in the laboratory, i.e., BMI1, MSI2 and KDM5B. Besides, several lines of evidence tend to show that there are fundamental differences between mouse and human hematopoietic stem cells.

Keyphrases: Niche, Functional screen, Gene overexpression, Hematopoietic stem cell, Self-renewal, Extrinsic expansion, Niche, Transcriptional regulatory network
La compétence en emploi peut-elle prédire la santé psychologique des enseignants?

This following thesis bears on relationship between psychological health, the basic needs and work competence. In addition to validating a questionnaire for work competencies (QCE), this thesis composed of two articles, proposes that the work competencies can predict psychological health in the workplace by meeting the basic needs, in the field of teaching. The first article aims to present the design and validation of the measurement instrument of work competencies in teaching. A first step in our study allowed the identification of three possible solutions factor: a single factor structure, two-factor structure and factor structure of the second order. The correlation matrix of the statements was reliable, lend them well to exploratory factor analysis and showed good internal consistency. The second step of our study was confirmatory type. All three possible solutions factor were analyzed, which allowed the identification of the best-fitting model given the empirical evidence threshold selected for the structural equation analysis. The study conducted on a sample of teachers in Quebec shows that we can conclude with good psychometric properties of the instrument analyzed. The limitations and contributions of this study are also presented. The second article examines the relation between work competencies, psychological health at work and the satisfaction of the basic needs (autonomy competence and affiliation). A mediation model is tested by analysis of structural equation modeling. In this model it is assumed that the satisfaction of the basic needs act as mediator in the relationship between work competencies and psychological health at work. A relationship of partial mediation (Baron & Kenny, 1986) was found in our sample, using the analysis of resampling by bootstrap in the context of structural equation modeling. The limitations of the research and suggestions for future research are proposed.

Keyphrases: bootstrap, validation, professional competence, teachers, education, basic needs, psychological health, structural equation modeling, validation
The prevalence of congenital amusia

Congenital amusia is a heritable disorder in which subjects fail to acquire basic musical abilities, such as normal music perception and music-recognition abilities, despite normal hearing, normal language abilities, and normal intelligence (Ayotte, Peretz & Hyde, 2002). Recently, a family-aggregation study showed that 39% of first-degree relatives in amusic families express the disorder, compared to 3% in control families (Peretz et al., 2007). This latter finding is interesting in that it illustrates a prevalence of the disorder in non-amusic families. Kalmus and Fry (1980) evaluated the prevalence of congenital amusia at 4%, using the Distorted Tunes Test (DTT). However, this test presents some methodological and statistical problems, such as a strong ceiling effect, as well as the use of folkloric tunes, which disadvantages the amusic participants since they cannot assimilate these melodies correctly. The present study aimed at re-evaluating the presence of congenital amusia, using a recently validated online test by Peretz and colleagues (2008). One thousand one hundred participants, from a homogeneous sample, completed the online test. Results showed a global prevalence of 11.6%, with four distinct patterns of performance emerging: pitch deafness (1.5%), pitch memory amusia (3.2%), pitch perception amusia (3.3%), and beat deafness (3.3%). The variability in the results obtained with the online test brings evidence of at least four types of amusias with individual prevalences, indicating a heterogeneity in congenital amusia that needs to be further explored in later studies.

Keyphrases: Congenital amusia, Prevalence study, Neurogenetic disorder
Relation entre les espèces de mercure, le sélénium et les thiols dans les eaux de surface du parc national du Mont-Tremblant (Laurentides, Québec)

Thiols and selenium may influence mercury methylation in aquatic environments. To demonstrate the occurrence of both elements with mercury in selected aquatic systems of Quebec, a sampling campaign was conducted during the summer of 2010 in Mont-Temblant national park (Laurentians, Quebec). There is a significant correlation between selenium and total mercury in surface water. However, concentrations of selenium are very low in lakes and beavers ponds. In addition, the park’s lakes have a relatively high concentrations of methyl mercury with an average of 0,33 ng L-1 and maximum values up to 3,29 ng L-1. Beaver ponds can also be considered hotspots of methylmercury contamination, with an average concentration of 0,95 ng L-1. However, the presence of a colony of beavers in the watershed of a lake does not appear to influence the levels of mercury in that lake. Two species of thiols are present in the surface water of the Laurentian ecosystems: glutathione and thioglycolic acid. The latter is significantly correlated with total mercury and methyl mercury. Thiols may play an important role in the methylation process by promoting the transport of inorganic mercury within the sulfate-reducing bacteria. To better undestand the antagonistic action between selenium and mercury, more research should be conducted in the tissue of organisms living in areas of low concentration of selenium to know if they are protected against mercury toxicity.

Keyphrases: Thiols, Glutathion, mercury, methylmercury, beaver, Laurentians, thiols, glutathione, total selenium
Mesure de Mahler supérieure de certaines fonctions rationelles

The 2-higher and 3-higher Mahler measure of some rational functions are given in terms of special values of the Riemann zeta function, a Dirichlet L-function and multiple polylogarithms. Our results generalize those obtained in [10] for the classical Mahler measure. We improve one of our results by providing a reduction for a certain linear combination of multiple polylogarithms in terms of Dirichlet L-functions. We conclude by giving a complete reduction of a special case.

Keyphrases: Mahler Measure, Zeta function, L-functions, Multiple polylogarithms