NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Cell wall composition regulates cell shape and growth behaviour in pollen tubes

One of the most important features characterizing plant cells and differentiating them from animal cells is the cell wall that surrounds them. The cell wall plays a critical role in providing protection to the protoplast; it acts as a filtering mechanism and is the location of many biochemical reactions implicated in the regulation of the cell metabolism and the mechanical properties of the cell. The local stiffness, extensibility, plasticity and elasticity of the different cell wall components determine the shape and geometry of the cell during differentiation and morphogenesis. The goal of my thesis is to understand the role played by the different cell wall components in shaping the plant cell and controlling its growth behaviour. To achieve this goal, I studied the pollen tube, or male gametophyte, as a cellular model system. The pollen tube is a cellular protuberance formed by the pollen grain upon its contact with the stigma. Its main purpose is to deliver the sperm cells to the female gametophyte to ensure double fertilization. The pollen tube is a tip-growing cell characterized by its simple cell wall composition and by the fact that it is the fastest growing cell of the plant kingdom. This makes it the ideal model to study the effects of drugs, mutations or stresses on cellular growth behaviour, metabolism and cell wall mechanics. The pollen tube cell wall consists mainly of proteins and three major polysaccharidic components: pectins, cellulose and callose. To understand the role played by these components in regulating pollen tube growth, I investigated the effects of mutations, enzymatic treatments, hyper-gravity and omni-directional gravity on the pollen tube cell wall. Using mathematical modeling combined with molecular biology and high-resolution electron and fluorescent microscopy I was able to show that the regulation of pectin chemistry is required for the regulation of the growth rate and pollen tube shape and that cellulose is crucial for determining the pollen tube diameter in the sup-apical region. Moreover, I investigated the role of the pectate lyases, a group of pectin digesting enzymes expressed during pollen tube development, and I showed that this enzyme activity is required for the initiation of pollen germination. More importantly, I directly showed for the first time that the pollen tube secretes cell wall loosening enzymes to facilitate its penetration through the style.

Keyphrases: Cellulose, Pectate lyases, Pollen tube, Cell wall, Pectins, Cellulose, Pectate lyase, Hyper-gravity, Mechanical properties
Les effets de la présence d’une audience et de la condition sur les préférences d’appariement des femelles diamant mandarin (Taeniopygia guttata)

Mate choice is often considered as the result of a simple interaction, but, in the wild, the social environment in which animals communicate generally corresponds to a network of several signallers and receivers. The presence of conspecifics, rivals, and even predators during mate choice can have many repercussions on that choice. Being observed by an audience of same-sex conspecifics can drive some species to alter the level of expression of their preferences, and even to modify those preferences to reduce competition or avoid being copied. The preference of several zebra finch females for two males was measured without and with a female audience to determine if the presence of an audience alters female mate choice. Moreover, to determine if these effects vary according to focal and audience females’ condition, the condition of several females was altered by diminishing their flying ability. According to the results, females lower their level of selectivity following the addition of an audience, and the intensity of male-female interactions depends on the focal females’ condition. Our findings suggest that females mainly adjust their behavior to avoid being copied and not according to their condition. However, these two mechanisms might have affected the females’ mating preferences simultaneously.

Keyphrases: Audience, Mate preference, Audience effects, Physical condition, Mate choice copying, Mutual choice, Zebra finch
L'entretien motivationnel chez les jeunes faisant partie d'un gang de rue

Street gangs are often cited in the medias. Important issues were raised on the right interventions to use and various approaches have been tired.  However, little recommendations have been identified in the scientific review on how to deal with young gang members during the individual monitoring.  Given their large resistances to commit to treatment, the theory on the states of change and the motivational interviewing can be seen as a solution to help them commit.  During our internship at the CJM-IU, case studies were carried out on five young gang members.  In addition to the usual functions of a youth worker, it had been decided to explore motivational interviewing techniques with the teenagers during their individual monitoring.  The initial level of motivation has been measured by the URICA (Di Clemente, 1990) at the beginning of the individual monitoring to then be revaluated at the end. Paired with the cognitive behavioral approach already in place at the CJM-IU, the motivational interviewing approach allows teenagers to explore more in depth their emotions.  In this respect, motivational interviewing could be inserted at targeted moments of the clinical process.  This technique works when an alliance is well establish.

Keyphrases: Motivation, Juvenile delinquents, Juvenile offenders, Street gangs, Youth centres, Case studies, Motivation, States of change, Motivational interviewing
The career of the missed encounter in classic american literature

This dissertation explores the career of the Lacanian missed encounter in canonical nineteenth-century American literature through the lens of psychoanalysis, deconstruction, postmodernism, and postcolonialism. In particular, I concentrate on Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Melville’s Moby-Dick, showing how they are invested in the narrative economy of the missed encounter, the economy of that which is beyond symbolization and assimilation. The introductory chapter investigates the historical, philosophical, and theoretical contours and detours of the concept of the missed encounter. This dissertation, then, has two goals: on the one hand, it attempts to examine the status and function of the missed encounter in nineteenth-century American literature, and on the other, it explores how theorizing the missed encounter might help us move beyond the binarist theorization that characterizes the current geopolitical scenes. My first chapter on Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter attempts to map the career of the signifier as a shuttling between the archive and the future, between the subject and the object, and between the signifier and the signified. The aim of this chapter is to account for the temporality of the signifier and the temporality of subjectivity and how they meet the temporality of the Tuché. By exploring the crypto-temporal dimension of the missed encounter, this chapter studies the excess of crypts through poetics (mainly prosopopeia, anasemia, and tropes of exhumation). The second chapter elaborates the contours of the missed encounter. This chapter approaches, from psychoanalytic and deconstructive viewpoints, the temporality of the missed encounter (the temporality of automaton and repetition). By exploring the narrative temporality (prolepsis and analepsis) in conjunction with the psycho-poetics of the double, this chapter attempts to lay bare the vicissitudes of melancholia and “narcissistic depression” in Moby-Dick (especially Ahab’s repetition of his unnarrated or disnarrated original encounter with the White Whale and his melancholic position in relation to the object he lost). By exposing the nature of trauma as a missed encounter, the residues of which manifest symptomatically through repetition (and doubling), this chapter explains the glissement of the letter (through the work of the supplement and différance). Chapter three broadens the scope of the missed encounter to the Others of America. The main purpose of this chapter is to assess the political, cultural, imaginary, and libidinal investitures of the missed encounter in the Real, the national Symbolic of the United States, and the current geopolitical reality. It also deals with the ambiguous relationship between jouissance and the Symbolic: the way in which jouissance animates and governs the Symbolic, while at the same time it blurs the boundary lines between the Real and reality and protects its excessive maneuvers.

Keyphrases: Tuché, Automaton, Trope, Archive, Trauma, Jouissance, American literature, The missed encounter, Narrative, Theory, Hawthorne, Melville, Lacan, Derrida, Žižek, Freud
Estimation des décès attribuables aux PM2.5 issues des feux de la forêt boréale du Nord du Québec

The association between adverse health effects and short term exposure to urban particulate matter in ambient air is well established. Few epidemiological studies have assessed the relation between fine particles (PM2.5) of specific sources like forest fires, and health effects. According to the published literature to date, risks of mortality and morbidity associated with PM2.5 from combustion sources appear similar to those of urban PM2.5. In the present thesis, we compared two methods to quantify mortality and morbidity risks associated with the increase in PM2.5 levels in Montreal, due to two major forest fire episodes in Northern Quebec. In the first approach we compared mortality and emergency room visits counts recorded during the episodes to their respective averages expected on “usual” days. We also calculated deaths and emergency room visits attributable to PM2.5 levels on episode days, using the range of relative risks (RRs) reported by the United-States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for urban PM2.5 levels, as well as specific risk functions developed with Montreal summer data.   With the first method, increases of deaths of more than 10% were observed for both episodes. However no clear tendency was observed in emergency room visits. Estimated attributable deaths associated with the increase in PM2.5 levels were smaller than those observed and ranged between 1 to 4 cases.   PM2.5 from Quebec boreal forest fires were associated with small increases in mortality estimated either with the risk function method or by contrasting observed deaths on “episode” days to“usual” days, on the Island of Montreal, hundreds of kilometers away from the fire sites.

Keyphrases: Attributable risks, Emergency room visits, Forest fires, Mortality
Synthèse stéréosélective de dérivés cyclopropaniques di-accepteurs par catalyse avec des complexes de rhodium(II)

Di-acceptor cyclopropane derivatives are valuable synthetic intermediates in the preparation of complex molecular structures, with applications in several fields of chemistry. During this work, we investigated the synthesis of these units in enantioenriched form via the Rh(II)-catalyzed cyclopropanation of alkenes using di-acceptor diazo compounds as substrates. Following the initial development of a method for the catalytic asymmetric cyclopropanation of alkenes using nitro diazoketones, many experimental studies on the mechanism of stereoinduction in this reaction were performed. We were able to identify the p-methoxyphenylketone group of the substrate and catalyst Rh2(S-TCPTTL)4 as a key combination for the obtention of high diastereoselectivities and enantiomeric excesses. This led to the development of two distinct stereoselective cyclopropanation methods, using either an cyano diazoketone or a keto diazoester. We demonstrated the utility of the enantioenriched cyclopropane derivatives obtained by these three methods in a variety of synthetic manipulations, including the nucleophilic addition of amines and cuprates, the formal cycloaddition with an aldehyde, and the synthesis of biologically relevant cyclopropane derivatives. A thorough structural study of chiral Rh(II) complexes allowed us to determine the factors responsible for their enantioinduction ability in our reaction system, which has enormous implications in other metal-carbene reactions using these catalysts. The unveiling of an unexpected conformation called 'All-up', and the presence of stabilizing interactions controlling the rigidity of this arrangement have been crucial in our understanding of the mechanism. As part of this investigation, we developed a general method for the synthesis of heteroleptic Rh(II) complexes, thus multiplying the number of catalysts available in the development of new stereoselective reactions, and allowing us to conduct a more detailed structural study. Moreover, we have developed a particularly efficient method for the synthesis of another type of di-acceptor cyclopropane derivative via Rh(II) catalysis, cyanocyclopropylphosphonates. The highly enantioenriched products obtained in this transformation are interesting substrates for tandem reactions of nucleophilic addition / olefination of carbonyl compounds, and are precursors of useful molecules in medicinal chemistry, such as aminocyclopropylphosphonic acids.

Keyphrases: Cyclopropane, Nitrocyclopropane, Cyanocyclopropane, Cyclopropylphosphonate, Cyclopropane, Rh(II) catalyst, Rhodium dimer, Nitrocyclopropane, Cyanocyclopropane, Cyclopropylphosphonate, Di-acceptor cyclopropane, Cyclopropane amino acid, Metal-carbene, Diazo compound
The role of ‘Shared Memories’ in shaping nationalist movements : a comparative historical analysis of the Flemish and Québécois nationalist movements

The Flemish and Québécois nationalist movements diverge in terms of their structural nature; for example, Flemish nationalism developed as a Christian democratic movement, whereas contemporary Québécois nationalism was galvanized around a secular-leftist ideology. There is also a significant contrast in the socio-demographic, economic, and political realities of Flanders in Belgium compared to those of Québec in Canada. However, despite the differing influences on the Flemish and Québécois nationalist movements, they have developed and maintained very similar nationalist profiles. Both nationalist movements are defined by a sense of ethno-linguistic distinctness, both have a paralleling nationalist discourse focused on the need to preserve and protect the language and culture of the national community, and both have been focused on obtaining a redistribution of cultural and political power through constructing an alternative political structure from that of the federal state.   This thesis proposes that the mirroring nationalist profiles of the Flemish and Québécois nationalist movements can be traced to the development of a similar type of ethno-linguistic nationalism of protest, which was initially established by nationalists wanting to rectify the effects of a linguistically based ‘cultural division of labour’. As a means of instrumentalizing and perpetuating this sense of ethno-linguistic nationalism of protest, both Flemish and Québécois nationalists have relied on evocating and shaping key ‘shared memories’ found within the historical narrative of the national community. These shared memories, as well as their symbolic representations, reflect sentiments of struggle, injustice, and victimization, and have been vital for Flemish and Québécois nationalists in maintaining their paralleling expressions of an ethno-linguistic nationalism of protest in Flanders and in Québec.

Keyphrases: Flanders, Flemish, Québec, Quebec, Québécois, Quebeckers, Cultural division of labour, nations, Ethno-linguistic nationalism of protest, nations, nationalism, Shared memoires, Symbols
L'exception exemplaire : une histoire de la notion de génie du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle

This dissertation shows how the figure of the génie was constituted in France over the course of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, by highlighting the paradoxes which allowed such a figure to become the fundamental notion of  modernity. The analysis revolves around three main lines. First, the circumstances for the invention of the very term génie in the French language are examined by focusing on the Greco-Latin cultural background it carried along. As a result, the notion appears as intimately connected to the genius of the French language and its history. Secondly, the analysis focuses on the role this notion played within the normative framework of poetic production at the end of the 17th century. Paradoxically, the value of the génie, which was then defined as the natural ability for the exercising of a regulated technique of poesis, was inconceivable without the transgression of such a normative framework. This social paradox underscores the fact that a génie was, at once, considered both as exceptional and exemplary. Finally, this very paradox his analyzed further within the trajectory of the development of aesthetic theories, during the 18th century, which were founded on a community-defining experience of beauty. This specific issue his examined with reference to the interest sensualist philosophers displayed, in particular, for the mechanisms of invention and discovery. The investigation comes to the following essential conclusion: the génie was, at the same time, problematic for the theories that attempted to circumscribe it and unifying for the communities which were illustrated through it.

Keyphrases: génie, genius, history, 16th-18th centuries, France, singularity, community, poetics, aesthetics, sensualism, genius of the French language, quarrel of the ancients and moderns
Développement du sentiment d'appartenance à une équipe sportive et persévérance scolaire : le cas des jeunes du programme «Bien dans mes baskets»

"Bien dans mes Baskets" (BdmB) is a psychosocial intervention program using basketball as a tool to prevent school dropout and delinquency among adolescents in difficulty or at risk. The general goals of the program are to prevent school dropout, delinquency and social exclusion. This study has two main objectives: 1) investigate the construction process of a sense of belonging to the team and to the school among athlete-students participating in BdmB, and 2) explore the potential connection between the basketball players' sense of team belonging and sense of school belonging.  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 21 male student-athletes enrolled in the program BdmB. We randomly selected seven student-athletes in three teams of different age categories (atome, cadet and juvénile) to highlight the potential progression of the sense of belonging over time. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim in order to conduct an analysis inspired by grounded theory.  The results allow the identification of three conditions that appear to play a key role in the construction of a sense of belonging: 1) the sharing of meaningful group experiences, 2) the valorization of playing basketball in BdmB, and 3) the team and program climate. These conditions arise from the interaction and combination of many individual factors, interpersonal factors and program factors. For some athlete-students, afterschool basketball seems to encourage academic motivation. For most of the athlete-students, their sense of team belonging is tantamount to their sense of school belonging.

Keyphrases: basketball, psychosocial intervention, sense of belonging, student retention, qulitative method
Double échappée ; suivi de Se dire, se comprendre : l'homosexualité adolescente dans les romans québécois pour la jeunesse

A delicate matter, homosexuality as a theme is seldom exploited in the arts. In Quebec’s literature for young people, we can only find a few main homosexual characters constituting positive representations for teenagers. Double échappée, the first part of this master thesis in research-creation, contributes to this field by directing the spotlight towards two teenagers who live their homosexuality in parallel. One has to learn to cope with this reality, a reality that is still new to him. At the same time, the other one, out of the closet and seamlessly at ease with his homosexuality, is forced to reaffirm his identity when he arrives in a new environment. Their paths are intertwined, their relationship grows and the reader is shown their awakenings, different but also tightly connected one to another.    The second part of this master thesis, entitled Se dire, se comprendre : l’homosexualité dans les romans québécois pour la jeunesse, is somewhat Double échappée’s contextual frame. With the sociological implications of the topic in mind, this essay studies the various treatments of identity issues brought up by homosexuality in a few novels published in Quebec. It analyzes the way six recent works destined for young adults hold the topic of homosexuality, especially in regard to identity awareness and its expression. This study concentrates on the way those books propose the uncovering of homosexuality by teenagers by focussing on the homosexual characters’ representations and their progression. It is important to see how the stories give a voice to the lesbian and gay protagonists.

Keyphrases: Homosexualité, Coming-out, Homosexuality, Literature for the youth, Identity, Heterosexism, Coming-out
Mures : Un système de recommandation de musique

In the last decade we have seen an incredible transformation of the world of music, from cassette tapes and compact discs to online digital music. With the explosion of the digital music we need music recommender systems to select those probably preferred songs from these huge online or personal databases. Currently, most music recommender systems use either collaborative (social) filtering or content-based algorithms. In this work we propose an original hybrid collaborative and tag-based algorithm improved by the context-of-use filtering technique in order to generate better playlists. Our approach assumes that user preferences change depending on the context of use. For example, a user listen one kind of music while driving to work, another type while traveling with the family on vacation, another one in a romantic evening or at  parties. Additionally, if the playlist was generated for more than one user (family trip, party) the system will propose songs depending on the preferences of all these users. The main goal of our system is to recommend music to the user from the personal music collection or new music from system music collection, new releases and incoming concerts. Another goal of our system it will be to gather data from external sources based on crawling techniques and RSS Feeds to provide music related content like: new releases, incoming concerts, lyrics, similar artists. We’ll try to interlink some free available datasets on the web like listening habits from Last.fm, music database from MusicBrainz and tags from MusicStrands in order to obtain unique identifiers for songs, albums and artists.

Keyphrases: Music Recommender Systems, Collaborative Filtering, Hybrid Recommendation, Context-Filtering