NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
L’association entre les symptômes de la dépression chez les adolescents et l’alimentation nocturne chez les jeunes adultes

Objectives: We assessed the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between symptoms of depression and night eating (sometimes or often) in young adulthood.   Methods: Data were drawn from the Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) study, an ongoing longitudinal investigation of 1294 grade 7 students that began in 1999 in Montreal, Canada. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Depressive Symptoms Scale (DSS) during high school, and with the Major Depression Inventory (MDI) post-high school when participants were ages 20 and 24 years on average. Night eating was measured by questionnaire once among 829 participants at age 24. The association between depression symptoms and night eating was estimated in multivariable logistic regression models.   Results: Overall, 9% of 829 participants (n=77) reported eating sometimes or often in the past month when they woke up at night. In cross-sectional multivariable analysis, the odds ratio (OR) estimates adjusted for age and mother university-educated was 1.03 (1.01, 1.05) for the MDI scores at age 24. In longitudinal analyses, the OR estimate was 1.46 (1.02, 2.10) for the DSS in grades 7-11. For MDI scores at age 20, the OR estimate was 1.02 (1.00, 1.05).   Conclusions: Symptoms of depression are associated with night eating among young adults both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Treatment of depression symptoms may be key in preventing occasional or frequent night eating.

Keyphrases: Adolescents, Night eating, Depression, Young adults
Vécu de la stigmatisation des femmes atteintes de dépression majeure au Québec : une étude qualitative

The stigma of depression is an understudied concept with major impact on the lives of affected individuals. Research has shown that the stigma can be a potential barrier to seeking treatment and can isolate individuals and prevent them from working. In this thesis, we examine “stigma” as related to major depression and its consequences on individuals. Ten women who have suffered or suffer from major depression were interviewed for this study. The main objectives were to evaluate the presence of stigma in their personal lives and their work environment. We also studied if stigma was present with their close entourage and their relationship with their antidepressants. The findings of this study reveal that stigma is in fact present in the individuals’ lives. Self-stigma of major depression is very present amongst the participants of this study, who have difficulty accepting their diagnosis. They blame themselves for their condition and are ashamed of it. The experience of mental disease is different than a physical illness and is harder to accept. In the workplace, it seems like anticipated stigma is greater than actual stigma, which nonetheless is still present. Many of the participants look for support among their friends and family, but reveal that prejudice is still present and that accentuates social isolation for some. The relationship between the participants and their antidepressants is ambiguous, conflicted and most of them wish to discontinue taking them.

Keyphrases: stigmate, stigma, self-stigma, women, personal life, work environment, entourage, antidepressants
Évaluation économique d'antidotes pour le renversement des nouveaux anticoagulants oraux en contexte de chirurgie d'urgence et de saignement majeur non contrôlé

There is currently no specific treatment to reverse direct oral anticoagulants (AODs) if bleeding occurs or if urgent surgery/procedure is required. Three antidotes to AODs are currently in clinical development and may eventually reverse the anticoagulant effect of AODs.  The purpose of this study was to assess the economic impact of an antidote for the reversal of the anticoagulant effect of AODs in major uncontrolled bleeding and in prophylaxis of emergency surgery/procedures.  Two models were constructed to assess the incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) of an antidote to AODs in comparison to the current major bleeding management approach and the current preoperative prophylaxis.   The ICUR of an antidote was determined assuming a variation in the cost of the antidote ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. For the reversal of AODs during major bleeding, the antidote is associated with an ICUR ranging from $45,187/QALY to $102,767/QALY from a Quebec health care perspective and from $48,812/QALY to $106,392/$QALY from a societal perspective. In comparison with current prophylaxis, the antidote is associated with an ICUR ranging from dominant to $10,934/QALY from a health care perspective and an ICUR remaining dominant from a societal perspective for an antidote’s price of $1,000 and $10,000 respectively.   This economic study demonstrates that an antidote to AODs would be a cost-effective strategy when compared to the current major bleeding management approach and the current preoperative prophylaxis.

Keyphrases: antidote, oral anticoagulants, direct oral anticoagulants, major bleeding, emergency surgery, pharmacoeconomics, economic evaluation, cost-utility analysis
Développement d’un véhicule de suspension pour formulations extemporanées pédiatriques

The off-label use of drugs, such as modifying the formulation, is a common practice amongst pharmacists. This is mainly due to the small number of available pediatric formulations, resulting in pharmacists reformulating commercialized products into extemporaneous preparations better suited for young patients. However, the suspension vehicles currently found on the market are not specifically designed for the pediatric use. We therefore hypothesized that it is possible to develop a safer suspension vehicle for the pediatric use. This vehicle will need to be stable, allow a good resuspendability and have some taste masking properties.  After reviewing the currently used methods and excipients for extemporaneous preparations, the vehicle composition was elaborated. The final version of the novel vehicle presented a viscosity of 85 cP at 25°C and a pH of 4.5. The stability of these properties was also evaluated. A slight reduction of the viscosity was reported for both vehicles when stored at room temperature, but the pH remained constant. The developed vehicle was stable for 6 months in refrigerated conditions and at room temperature.   Taste has an important role in the development of an oral pharmaceutical formulation, especially when it comes to the children compliance to the treatment. A palatability study was conducted in two groups (adult and children) to compare this new suspension vehicle to the USP version. The participants evaluated the odour, taste, mouthfeel and overall appreciation of both vehicles. It was found that the taste and overall appreciation were rated higher for the newly developed suspension vehicle.   Caffeine (10 mg/mL), hydrocortisone (1 mg/mL), spironolactone (5 mg/mL) and tacrolimus (0.5 mg/mL) were formulated extemporaneously from commercially available tablets or powder in a novel suspension vehicle specially designed for pediatric use. The stability of these suspensions was evaluated in amber plastic bottles as well as amber plastic syringes at 5 °C and 25 °C. Caffeine was stable for 30 days at all tested conditions in syringes and up to 180 days in bottles. For hydrocortisone, the concentration remained over 90% in bottles at 25°C for 180 days and 90 days for bottles at 5°C. In syringes, the measured concentration was over 90% after 30 days. Spironolactone remained stable at all conditions for the whole duration of the study in both bottles and syringes. The tacrolimus suspensions were found stable 180 days in plastic bottles stored at 5°C and at least 90 days at 25°C. In syringes, they were stable 30 days when stored 25°C and 14 days at 5°C. No changes in organoleptic properties or pH were observed for the formulations, with the exception of a slight color change for the spironolactone formulation.

Keyphrases: oral, liquide, suspension, hydrocortisone, spironolactone, solution, tacrolimus, Liquid, Paediatric, Stability, Hydrocortisone
Les anti-saccades prédisent le fonctionnement cognitif dans le vieillissement normal et la maladie de Parkinson

Cognitive control combines inhibition and task-switching abilities and can be measured with an eye-movement tasks such as the interleaved pro/anti-saccade task as it relies on such abilities. Decline in cognitive control was attributed to aging, neurological illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and decline in other cognitive abilities. However, little is known about the relationship between cognitive control and other cognitive processes. Here we investigated whether anti-saccade performance can predict performance on unrelated cognitive tasks. 34 younger adults, 22 older adults, and 20 PD patients performed an interleaved pro/anti-saccade, a visual spatial memory, a decision-making and two types of visual search (pop-out and serial) tasks. We showed that anti-saccade performance explained 46% of decision-making performance, and 35% of visual memory performance. We also revealed that anti-saccade performance predicted pop-out and serial search times to a larger extent in PD patients compared to older adults. Our results suggest that anti-saccade performance is a good predictor of other cognitive abilities in both older adults and PD patients. We propose the use of the interleaved pro/anti-saccade task as a complimentary measure of cognitive control in aging and PD populations.

Keyphrases: inhibition, anti-saccade, cognitive control, task-switching, Parkinson's disease, aging, anti-saccade, eye movement, cognitive function, striato-frontal pathways, multiple regression
The CB1R system within the nucleus accumbens of vervet monkeys

Dopamine (DA) release onto the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is central to the reward circuit, the dysregulation of which plays a role in addiction. The NAc can be anatomically divided into a core and shell. Both regions receive DA projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA). VTA DA release onto the shell mediates feelings of reward associated with addiction, while the core is part of a motor circuit with the substantia nigra (SN) that encodes relevant motor patterns for eye movements and locomotion. In rodents, the endocannabinoid (eCB) system, which modulates neurotransmission, is present in the NAc, and plays a role in the modulation of DA release. Marijuana, which contains among others the active phytocannabinoid delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, produces its psychoactive effects by activating the cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R), which may cause these effects by altering DA release. As such, it is hypothesized that the CB1R system plays a crucial role in mediating the rewarding properties of marijuana and other drugs of abuse, and possibly the value of natural rewards. Expression patterns of CB1R, the eCB synthesizing enzyme N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD), and the eCB degradation enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) in the NAc have not been described in monkeys and humans. It is therefore the goal of the present study to characterize the expression and localization of these components of the eCB system within the NAc of vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus) using Western Blots and immunohistochemistry. We found that CB1R, NAPE-PLD, and FAAH are expressed across the NAc, both in the core and shell. CB1R, NAPE-PLD, and FAAH are localized in GABAergic medium spiny projection neurons (MSNs), and in fast-spiking GABAergic interneurons (FSIs). CB1R, NAPE-PLD, and FAAH did not co-localize with dopaminergic projections, or astrocytes. These data indicate that the CB1R system is also present in the monkey NAc and suggests that it may play an important role in the brain reward circuit through a disinhibitory action on DA release. Thus, the primate eCB system may play a considerable role in reward perception, motivation, and action selection.

Keyphrases: CB1R, NAPE-PLD, FAAH, endocannabinoid system, nucleus accumbens, primate, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence
Using sensory substitution devices for a letter recognition task

Humans use their sense of vision in order to interact with their environment in an optimal manner. Those who suffer from blindness are therefore at a disadvantage, and so, scientists, such as Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita have created sensory substitution devices (SSDs) with the purpose of providing the blind population with more independence. This project recruited eight congenitally blind (CB) and eight blindfolded sighted control (SC) subjects to engage in a training experiment on a letter recognition task on three consecutive days. The experiment made use of state-of-the-art sensory substitution devices, such as the tongue display unit (TDU) (where a visual scene is transformed into a pattern of tactile stimulations on the tongue), and the vOICe (where visual information is transformed into sounds). We measured performance on the letter recognition task using reaction times. The letters would appear on a screen in front of the participants and a camera, mounted onto glasses, would capture the scene and convert it into tactile sensations on the tongue, sounds, or both. Congenitally blind subjects and the blindfolded sighted controls were matched for age and musical experience. The pairs were then assigned to three different training conditions; an audio group (vOICe only), a tactile group (TDU only), and an audio-tactile group (vOICe + TDU simultaneously). We found that the congenitally blind subjects significantly outperformed the sighted controls in the audio group only. We remain optimistic in the breadth of new technologies available for the blind, as well as the potential breakthroughs that will, one day, provide blind individuals with an increased sense of autonomy.

Keyphrases: Substitution multi-sensorielle, TDU, vOICe, MSSD, Congenital blindness, Sensory substitution, Multisensory substitution, Letter recognition, Multisensory training
L’infestation palpébrale et faciale au Demodex folliculorum

Demodex folliculorum [D. folliculorum] is the most common ectoparasite in the eyelash and skin follicles. Its precise role in the microflora is not yet determined, but it seems to act as a commensal. However, when its quantity exceeds a certain threshold, it becomes pathogenic. Its infestation is associated with anterior and/or posterior blepharitis, dry eye disease and several types of facial conditions such as rosacea. Since D. folliculorum can be found as much in the lids as in the facial skin, this suggests that a palpebral infestation may be associated with a higher facial mite density. To verify this hypothesis, participants with various severities of D. folliculorum blepharitis were recruited. The epilation of infested lashes was performed, to assess mite counts. The facial infestation was quantified by a standardized skin-surface biopsy of the forehead, thus extracting a few layers of the superficial epidermis and the content of the hair follicles. The results revealed that the presence of Demodex blepharitis is associated with a facial mite density beyond the normal threshold. In addition, the degree of facial erythema increases with the severity of palpebral and facial infestations. Some ocular signs and symptoms are also affected by the presence of Demodex blepharitis. For example, a mild to moderate infestation is associated with a tear meniscus height reduction as well as more watery eyes, and a severe infestation with increased itching along the lids. In conclusion, since facial and palpebral infestations are concomitant, both eye care professionals and dermatologists should be involved in the diagnosis and management of this common parasite. In addition, a multidisciplinary approach would ultimately benefit the affected individuals.

Keyphrases: Demodex folliculorum, blepharitis, eyelash pathophysiology, demodicosis, follicle, skin-surface biopsy
Improved training of generative models

This thesis explores ideas along 2 different directions: — Improved Training of Recurrent Neural Networks - Recurrent Neural Networks are trained using teacher forcing which works by supplying observed sequence values as inputs during training, and using the network’s own one-step ahead predictions to do multi-step sampling. We introduce the Professor Forcing algorithm, which uses adversarial domain adaptation to encourage the dynamics of the recurrent network to be the same when training the network and when sampling from the network over multiple time steps. This work was accepted as a conference poster at NIPS 2016. — Training iterative generative models A recognized obstacle to training undirected graphical models with latent variables such as Boltzmann machines is that the maximum likelihood training procedure requires sampling from Monte-Carlo Markov chains which may not mix well, in the inner loop of training, for each example. In this thesis, we first propose the idea that it is sufficient to locally carve the energy function everywhere so that its gradient points in the right direction (i.e., towards generating the data). This corresponds to a new learning procedure that first walks away from data points by following the model transition operator and then trains that operator to walk backwards for each of these steps, back towards the training example. This work was accepted as a conference poster at NIPS 2017. Chapter One is dedicated to background knowledge about generative models. This covers directed and undirectored graphical models and how the proposed method in Chapter 3 are related to these. In the following chapter, I will describe our proposed method to improve training of recurrent neural networks using Professor Forcing Goyal et al. [2016]. The third chapter describes the Variational Walkback [Goyal et al., 2017a] algorithm. This is an algorithm for training an iterative generative model by directly learns a parameterized transition operator.

Keyphrases: Generative Models, Recurrent Neural Networks, Variational inference, Monte carlo Markov Chain
Le concours de 1848 pour une figure symbolique de la République : entre agentivités et simulacre

In the aftermath of the overthrow of the July Monarchy and King Louis-Philippe during the 1848 Revolution, the provisional government of the Second Republic organized the contest for a symbolic figure of the Republic. The objective of this competition was twofold: to allow the Republic to acquire a symbolic representation capable of being diffused throughout France in order to establish its power and its legitimacy, and to implement the ideals of egalitarianism in the arts as promoted by the spirit of the 1848 Revolution. While the competition was a great success in terms of the number of candidates who decided to submit a work and the decision of the Jury to nominate twenty finalists, it was simply canceled by the latter without any winner being appointed. We will first try to reinterpret this contest with the help of the anthropology of art and the theory of images. We will show that it was first and foremost a place where different agentivities took place and where the works produced were endowed with power and considered as a mean to achieve political objectives. We will then explain the failure of this contest by equating its cancellation by the Jury with an iconoclastic act on the symbolic level. We will then demonstrate that the works produced were considered as simulacra incapable of symbolically embodying the Republic. Finally, we conclude with an analysis unrepresentable character of the Republic, aiming at failure any attempt to embody it in an image.

Keyphrases: Jury, Second Republic, Agentivity, Symbolic figure, Simulacra, 1848 Revolution, Contest
De personae à personnages : fictionnaliser les stars : l'écosystème narratif des Beatles

This research-creation project is a study on the fictionalisation of pop stars in the context of cinema and media in general, focusing on The Beatles as an example. We observe how The Beatles, from iconic musical figures, transformed into four transfictional characters through their iterative transmedial storytelling. This process resulted in the formation of a narrative universe which blurred the lines of reality and fiction. A universe which we will attempt to map and explore while describing its genesis, principles and functioning as well as by questioning its limits. This study is both conceptual and creative and accompanies the production of a feature length documentary, Without the Beatles. A symphony of embodiments and variations centered around the personalities of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Keyphrases: The Beatles, world-building, performance, tribute band, tribute artist, music, film, transfictionality, narrative ecosystem
Enjeux de pouvoir entre mémoire et identité dans la Vallée du Jequitinhonha, au Brésil

This research-creation dissertation emerged from the production of the documentary film Yekity, shot in Brazil in August 2016. The film immerses us in the heart of several communities in the Jequitinhonha Valley, located in the north-east of the State of Minas Gerais. Organized around the changes and upheavals brought about by the arrival of electricity in the Valley and the inclusion of autobiographical elements of the filmmaker, the film throws light on the questions of identity, memory and resilience that have deeply marked its inhabitants. The theoretical elements of this dissertation are organized around the question of the filmmaker's gaze as an exile and his quest for identity. The dissertation draws on the post-colonial theories of Edward Said, the work of researcher-filmmakers such as Trinh T. Minh-ha, and the essay as a personal practice. Emerging from this complex intersection are new perspectives regarding human relations and listening postures which have informed the cinematographic practice. To fully understand this thread, and the choices that have brought us here, we invite the reader to undertake the journey to Yékity.

Keyphrases: Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais, Documentary, identity, memory, popular culture, women, Brazilian documentary