NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Mealtime experiences of hospitalized older patients requiring a puree consistency diet

The Health Promoting Hospital (HPH) concept has gained much momentum since its development in Europe in the late nineteen eighties.  The Montreal network of HPH was created in 2005, within the context of the last reform.  The McGill University Health Center (MUHC) is a part of this network since 2007.  This study focuses on the creation of a health promoting hospital setting for patients and addresses the mealtime experience of older hospitalized patients requiring a puree diet.     A qualitative case study design was used to explore patients’ perceptions of aspects of their puree meal tray, assistance provided by staff and the social context in which the meal was taken.  Health professionals’ view of the patients’ experience were also obtained.  Results indicate that the difficult identification of food items, flavour, appearance and variety were all important factors negatively affecting the mealtime experience.  Feelings of loss of control were also reported by patients and staff.  The social context in which the meal was taken was highlighted as an area which could be targeted to improve mealtimes.   A program using formed puree food items could help lessen the negative impact of the prescription of a puree diet.  Changes in nursing practices regarding the creation of a pleasant social atmosphere were identified as an inexpensive option to improve the mealtime experience for patients and decrease feelings of lack of control for staff in this aspect of care.

Keyphrases: dysphagie, Health Promoting Hospitals, hospitalized older patients, dysphagia, formed puree
Étude sur le rôle des déséquilibres génomiques dans le Syndrome d’Impatiences Musculaires de l’Éveil

Restless Legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterized by the urge to move one’s limbs. It is also one of the most frequent causes of insomnia. The prevalence of RLS is estimated to be around 15% in the general population. Complexes disorders like RLS are often the result of the evolution of genetic and environmental components. For RLS, recent Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) have identified four variants with mild to moderate effects. However, those four variants explain only a small part of the disease heritability and thus, we expect that many new variants are still to be found. The impact of Copy-Number Variation (CNV) in the genetic mechanism of RLS is still unknown. However, many studies have recently position the CNVs as a significant source of genetic variation potentially responsible of phenotypes. In collaboration with a team from Munich, we conducted two genome-wide CNVs studies (Genome Wide SNP chips and Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH)) on RLS patients from Germany. Using cases-controls studies, we identified regions with a different occurrence of CNVs for RLS patients, compared to different groups of controls. One of these regions is particularly interesting, as it has already been identified by both linkage and association studies.

Keyphrases: PTPRD, Restless Legs Syndrome, Human Genetic, Neurogenetic, Genome Wide Association Study
Le vote pour le mouvement réformateur iranien est-il un vote pour la démocratie?

Is voting for the reform movement in Iran tantamount to voting for democracy? It is conceived that the more democratic characteristics of the reformist political parties in Iran; automatically provide them with the support of the more democratically oriented voters. In this thesis, we put this theory to the test. To do so, we use survey data  (World Values Survey 2001) to identify voters’ attitudes and attributes in relation to their vote choice. We first depict the Iranian electorate by exploring the sociodemographic determinants of their vote. Only some of our hypothesis based on the general understandings and mainstream analysis of elections in Iran are validated. Age and education seem to have an impact in vote choice. Younger and more educated voters tend to vote in bigger numbers for the reformist movement. Contrary to our assumptions though, women tend to vote more for the conservative movement and urbanism has no effect on the vote. Then, in order to answer the initial question of this research we study the correlation between the respondents’ attitudes and their votes. We demonstrate that a positive attitude toward democracy, according equal rights to women, a lower level of religiosity, and economic liberalism are all positively correlated with a vote in favour of the reformist movement. We therefore illustrate the importance of the attitudes, particularly those toward democracy, in the electoral behaviour of Iranian voters. We also point out the impact of other attitudinal factors concerning equality, religion and economy. Our results tend to indicate that these factors are at least just as useful that factors such as sex or urbanism, into portraying the stratification of the Iranian society with regards to its vote choice.

Keyphrases: Iran, Attitudes, Iran, Election, Electoral behaviour, Attitudes, Democracy
Structure d'une tagatose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase de classe I : étude d'une apparente perte de stéréospécificité

Tagatose-1,6-biphosphate aldolase from Streptococcus pyogenes is a class I aldolase that shows a lack of stereospecificity that is rare in enzymes in general, and in aldolases in particular. This aldolase catalyzes the reversible cleavage of tagatose-1,6-biphosphate (TBP), fructose-1,6-biphosphate (FBP),  sorbose-1,6-biphosphate and psicose-1,6-biphosphate, four stereoisomers, in dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (DHAP). In order to understand its mechanism, a structural study of TBP aldolase from S. pyogenes, one of the most versatile and virulent human pathogen, was initiated and high resolution crystallographic structures of native and DHAP-liganded TBP aldolase were solved. These structures allowed us to gain informations regarding active site residues implicated in catalysis and that give rise to the apparent lack of specificity. Soaking of TBP aldolase crystals in saturating DHAP solution specifically trapped the iminium intermediate, as demonstrated by its geometry. Furthermore, proton transfer studies uncovered an interesting phenomenon: TBP aldolase from S. pyogenes is unable to detritiate pro-R labelled hydrogen position at C3 of DHAP, yet it is able to tritiate both the pro-R and the pro-S position. These results, taken together with the superposition of the DHAP-TBP aldolase with the DHAP-FBP aldolase from rabbit muscle, suggest a cis-trans isomerism about the Schiff base C2-C3 bond.  The resolution of both the native and the liganded structure also proved useful in identifying three very mobile regions in the protein. This trend could be linked to the putative metabolic sensor and genetic expression regulator role of LacD.1 in S. pyogenes.  X-rays crystallography and traditional enzymatic kinetics allowed us to gain insights into the catalytic mechanism and others structural properties of this important metabolic enzyme.

Keyphrases: Streptococcus pyogenes, enzymology, crystallography, class I aldolase, stereospecificity, isomerism, Streptococcus pyogenes
Étude du rôle spécifique du système à deux composantes PhoBR et du système Pst (phosphate specific transport) dans la virulence d’une souche pathogène aviaire de Escherichia coli (APEC)

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains are associated with respiratory infections and septicemia in poultry. The Pho regulon is jointly controlled by the two-component regulatory system PhoBR and by the phosphate-specific transport (Pst) system. To determine the involvement of the PhoBR regulon and the Pst system in the pathogenesis of the APEC O78 strain χ7122, different phoBR and pst mutant strains were tested for in vivo and in vitro virulence traits. Mutations resulting in constitutive activation of the Pho regulon rendered strains more sensitive than the wild-type to hydrogen peroxide and to the bactericidal effects of rabbit serum. In addition, production of type 1 fimbriae was also impaired in these strains. Using a chicken competitive infection model, all PhoB constitutive mutants were out-competed by the wild-type parent, including strains containing a functional Pst system. In addition, cumulative inactivation of the Pst system and the PhoB regulator resulted in a restoration of virulence. Loss of the PhoB regulator alone did not affect virulence in the chicken infection model. Interestingly, the level of attenuation of the mutant strains correlated directly with the level of activation of the Pho regulon. Overall, results indicate that activation of the Pho regulon rather than phosphate transport by the Pst system plays a major role in the attenuation of APEC.

Keyphrases: Escherichia coli, Virulence, Escherichia coli, Virulence, Pho regulon, Two-component system
Le secret bancaire et l'entraide internationale

Among the indicators of globalization, banking secrecy is currently at the centre of a historic and heated debate over the globalization of the economy, growing security requirements, the urgency of the fight against the laundering of funds from criminal activities and the expansive globalization of banking networks. The trend toward strengthening international cooperation calls into question the firm safeguarding of banking secrecy in several countries. The telling question is quite clear: it essentially involves knowing how far secrecy in its most restricted and inflexible form nevertheless becomes a decisive instrument in bypassing common rules, making for unfair competition in the markets and ensuring real crimes: terrorism, for instance . In the development of situations considered problematic, the parallel approach of the three organizations, the Basel Committee, OECD and FATF, is all the more significant for having been inspired by the concerns expressed within the G7 about the dangers to the international economy presented by certain financial activities performed on and from these territories. Public order also justifies the implementation of dedicated measures to curb the laundering, of funds from drug trafficking. Depending on the country, more or less ingenious systems attempt to reconcile the necessary informing of the public authorities and the right to banking secrecy, an advanced element in the protection of private life, the upshot of which are, among others, Articles 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Article 8 of the European Convention for the Safeguarding of Citizens’ Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties, and the corresponding breach of these liberties. As we shall see, the exorbitant prerogatives the State, the administration or certain third parties enjoy by exercising a right to public performance and information exchange constitute a veritable breach of the hallowed principle of private life and the right to confidentiality. This penetration by the State or the administration into the heart of privileged relations between banks and their customers certainly finds irrefutable justification when protection involves the public interest – the search for a juridical and judicial solution. But this inevitably creates internal pressures and constant controversy, regardless of the abuse of law that can unfortunately be seen in the use and exercise of certain prerogatives.

Keyphrases: Québec-Canada, Problematics, GATF, Money laundering
Les cartes fonctionnelles dans le cortex visuel du chat : nouvelles stratégies d’évaluation en imagerie optique et mise en évidence de l’organisation anatomo-fonctionnelle

The clustering of neurons of similar properties is at the basis of the brain modular architecture and is considered as a strategy to optimized processing. One consequence of this clustering is the presence of functional maps in the primary visual cortex of several mammals based on features such as orientation, direction of motion and stimulus position (retinotopy). The first section of this thesis was aimed at characterizing the modular organization of functions in primary and higher-order areas. First, we investigated the possibility that a fundamental cell property, the receptive field center / surround suppression, could be orderly represented in the primary visual cortex. Second, we determined the level of modular organization in area 21a for two key properties, orientation and direction of motion. All studies were based on the optical imaging of intrinsic signals in anesthetized cats.  Results indicate the presence of high and low surround suppression modules in the primary visual cortex (areas 17 and 18). To date, such organization has been discovered only in a higher-order area in primate. A modular organization for orientation, similar to the one observed in areas 17 and 18 was observed in area 21a. On the other hand, in contrast to area 18, no direction modules were discovered in area 21a. Overall, the first part of this thesis increased our knowledge about the anatomo-fonctional organization of cat visual cortex. They will also be instrumental to better understand the factors leading to the presence of a modular organization in the cortex. The second section of this thesis was directed to the development of a novel quantitative tool for the temporal analysis of optical imaging intrinsic signals. This new approach, based on Fourier decomposition, allowed to greatly increase the signal to noise ratio of the recordings. Until now, this analysis was only been based on single harmonic quantification, limiting its application for orientation and rétinotopy mapping only. A model exploiting higher harmonics was then developed to estimate additional parameters such as the receptive field size and direction selectivity. Thereafter, this model was validated with success by conventional approaches on the primary visual cortex.

Keyphrases: Vision, Fourier, Orientation, Primate, Map, Cortex, Cat, Optical Imaging, Image processing, Motion, Signal processing, hemodynamic
Rôle des médiateurs lipidiques dans la réaction inflammatoire chez le lapin

Inflammatory lipid mediators including leucotriene B4 (LTB4) and platelet activating factor (PAF) regulate the trafficking of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) and plasma extravasation at inflammatory sites. To delineate their role in regulating PMNs extravasation, we studied the effect of PAF and/or LTB4 selective receptor antagonists in dermal inflammation induced by a variety of agonists in a rabbit bioassay model. The results show that there is an additive inhibitory effect when the two antagonists are used concomitantly on PMNs dermal accumulation induced by LTB4 and PAF, as well by chemically unrelated agonists including TNFα, in addition to inhibiting plasma extravasation induced by LTD4. These results support a regulatory role of LTB4 and PAF in regulating PMNs trafficking and plasma extravasation at inflammatory sites. Next, we studied the regulatory role of lipid mediators in regulating PMNs trafficking in response to hind limb ischemia-reperfusion. The results show that the administration of both PAF and LTB4 receptor antagonists reduced significantly PMNs migration to the lung, the liver and the intestine. Our results contributed to elucidate the role of LTB4 and PAF in the regulation of PMNs migration and oedema formation at inflammatory sites.

Keyphrases: Dermal inflammation, Ischemia-reperfusion, Leukotriene B4, Rabbit, Myeloperoxidase, Polymorphonuclear neutrophils, Oedema, Platelet activation factor
Le rôle du sentiment d’efficacité personnelle, de l’insatisfaction corporelle
et de l’alexithymie dans l’étiologie et le maintien des troubles des conduites alimentaires

High prevalence of Eating Disorders (EDs) amongst young women and poor treatment outcome rates have urged researchers to better understand premorbid factors involved in the pathology. One of the first models to emphasize premorbid personality factors in order to explain eating disorders was proposed by Hilde Bruch (1962, 1973, 1978) and is still very influential in today’s literature. Bruch’s model included three factors, namely body dissatisfaction, ineffectiveness and interoceptive awareness. The purpose of this thesis was to provide an empirical validation of Bruch’s theoretical model. Based on the literature, this thesis also aimed to determine if two related concepts, namely alexithymia and eating self-efficacy, improved the accuracy of the model in predicting ED symptoms.  To empirically answer this question, it was first deemed necessary to have an eating self-efficacy questionnaire that could be used within all the spectrum of ED pathology. Therefore, the Eating Disorder Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (EDRSQ) was adapted to French and its’ psychometric properties were assessed. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a bi-factorial structure, which were Body Image Self-Efficacy and Normative Eating Self-Efficacy. Both scales demonstrated evidence of reliability and theoretically consistent evidence of construct validity. Afterwards, Bruch’s factors ability to predict ED symptoms was assessed and then compared to empirically driven adaptations of the model. A total of 203 undergraduate females completed the Eating Disorder Inventory 2, Eating Attitudes Test, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale, as well as the EDRSQ. The results indicated that Bruch’s model accounted for 46% of the variance in eating symptomatology. While body dissatisfaction and interoceptive awareness both demonstrated an important contribution in predicting ED symptomatology, ineffectiveness was found to have a negligible specific contribution. Bruch’s model was improved by substituting ineffectiveness with eating self-efficacy as measured by the EDRSQ; it then accounted for 64% of the variance in eating disorder symptoms. Finally, this study demonstrated that alexithymia was not a specific predictor of eating disorder symptoms. Thus, a combination of lack of interoceptive awareness, body dissatisfaction and low eating self-efficacy is strongly associated with symptoms of eating disorders in a non-clinical sample of women. Finally, the conceptual and clinical implications of these findings were discussed.

Keyphrases: Eating disorders, Ineffectiveness, Body dissatisfaction, Self-efficacy, Alexithymia, Interoceptive awareness
Traitement cérébral de sons émotionnels : une perspective électrophysiologique

In an auditory oddball task, negatively (disgust) and positively (laughter) valenced sounds were presented as rare targets. To disentangle acoustic effects from emotional ones, a control oddball was conceived with a non‐emotional scrambled version of the original target sounds as rare targets. Results from the emotional oddball that differed from the control oddball showed an inverse effect of valence in the P2 and P300 range, with negative valence having higher mean amplitude values in the 130‐270ms range, but lower values in the 290‐460 range when compared to ERPs elicited by positive and neutral valence. The P2 results are interpreted as early mobilization of attentional resources towards potentially threatening stimuli, while the P300 results could reflect less detailed evaluation of such stimuli.

Keyphrases: P300, emotion, composante positive tardive, negativity bias, oddball, evoked potentials, late positive component
L'intermédialité littéraire dans quelques récits d'Assia Djebar

Multidiscipline has definitely marked the journey of Assia Djebar. The Algerian French writer has devoted interest in literature as well as the arts. Her infatuation with the arts hasn’t been without influence towards her writing. The fact is above all remarkable in the level of numerous explicit references, both intertextual and interdiscursive, that her stories have made their rounds in cinema, in art, in music, in photography and in mosaics. It is from these references that we hypothesize a relation to the arts, implemented in a more implicit style in Djebar’s prose, that is to say an openess to defining her poetics. Therefore, for us it is a matter of putting into place writing procedures, in the Djebarian style, which in return for their movements and changes, are capable of creating effects as well as techniques that will be used in other art forms that are generally produced. Intermediality allows us to envision this type of work. Whereas, intertextuality puts emphasis above all on texts, interdiscursivity on discourse, and interartiality on the esthetical characteristics of artistic productions ; intermediality gathers these concerns, without neglecting to consider the technical dimension inherent to the phenomena of meaning which lends shape to their semiotic subject matter.

Keyphrases: Intermediality, Interdiscursivity, Interartiality, Literature, Media, Cinema, Painting, Music, Photography, Mosaic
Vision, montage et trame sonore dans «Tous les matins du monde», de Pascal Quignard

The study of « Tous les matins du monde », of Pascal Quignard, and punctually, of « Terrasse à Rome », will allow us to examine the relationship between cinema and literature from a poetic, esthetical point of view and a deepen literature’s intermediary approach. Using Umberto Eco’s reading theory, we will observe how the reader’s film encyclopaedia may make him receptive to cinema-effect literature. We will study the implicit clues which, together, create the film esthetic. Vision, editing and sounding can be studied through three chapters.  We hope that this perspective will allow the reading of « Tous les matins du monde » from a new critical perspective, while deepening the intermediality researches.

Keyphrases: Roman, Pascal Quignard, Cotemporary French literature, Novel, Cinema, Intermediality, Pascal Quignard
Étude en laboratoire du rêve de personnes atteintes de schizophrénie

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease which is characterized by symptoms which cause altered reality perception, cognitive deficits, and impairment in social or vocational functioning. In addition to clinical symptoms, schizophrenia can be accompanied with nocturnal characteristics which could manifest during dreaming. Using both questionnaire-based measures and laboratory REM sleep and non-REM sleep awakenings, we sought to characterize the dream content of 14 participants with schizophrenia under atypical antipsychotic medication. Results were compared with those from 15 healthy individuals. The relationship between dream content and daytime functioning in schizophrenia was also explored. Questionnaire data revealed that when compared to controls, patients with schizophrenia report experiencing a greater number of nightmares. Laboratory awakenings revealed that there was no significant difference between the two groups in the number of dream reports with reportable content, regardless of the sleep stage in which dreams were collected. In addition, when compared to their REM dream counterparts, both groups’ non-REM dream reports were shorter and included significantly fewer reportable items on several content scales. Laboratory REM and non-REM dream narratives from the patients were shorter and, after controlling for report length, most significant differences in dream content between the two groups disappeared. Patients with schizophrenia spontaneously rated their dream reports as being less bizarre than did controls, despite a similar density of bizarre elements as scored by external judges. Finally, both groups had a comparable density of rapid eye movements during REM sleep but a significant positive correlation between eye-movement density and dream content variables was only found in controls. Taken together, these findings suggest that dream content characteristics in schizophrenia may reflect psychopathological parameters specific to this disorder.

Keyphrases: Schizophrenia, dreams, REM sleep, non-REM sleep, sleep laboratory, polysomnography