NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Un criblage ciblant de nouveaux facteurs impliqués dans l’assemblage mitotique des chromosomes dans le nématode C. elegans

Cell division is a fundamental process that continuously happens in all living organisms. In each cell division, genetic material of the parent cell duplicates and segregates to produce genetically identical daughter cells in a process called mitosis. Cells need to condense their genetic material to be able to partition them equally. Any subtle defects, either timing or compaction level, could lead to the unequal inheritance of genetic material, a phenomenon that is believed to be the leading cause of cancerous transformation. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the coordinated changes of higher-order chromosome structure are poorly understood.  In the last two decades, various approaches have identified several conserved factors required for chromosome condensation. To define the roles of known and novel factors in this process, I performed an RNAi based screen using high-resolution live imaging of the C. elegans one-cell embryo. Importantly, using an in vivo approach, I discovered seven novel factors required for mitotic chromosome assembly, including Ribonulceotide reducatase (RNR) and DNA topoisomerase II (topo-II). In this thesis, I report a structural role for topo-II in mitotic chromosome assembly and underlying molecular mechanisms. During chromosome condensation process, topo-II acts independently as a local assembly factor leading to global chromosome axis formation, contradicting models that chromosomes organize around preassembled scaffolds, thus representing a novel pathway for chromosome assembly in C. elegans. Furthermore, I also discovered a non-enzymatic role of RNR in the mitotic chromosome assembly process. During this process, RNR is involved in nucleosome stability, and thereby, it allows higher-order chromatin assembly. In this thesis, I also report preliminary data for other novel factors that I discovered in the RNAi based screen for factors involved in chromosome condensation. Importantly, my analyses revealed that the depletion of several proteins results in distinct chromosome condensation phenotypes, indicating that they function in discrete events during mitotic chromosome assembly. In sum, I conclude that metaphase chromosomes are built by the distinct scaffolding activities of three proteins: DNA topoisomerase II, condensin complexes and centromere proteins. Taken together, these studies provide underlying molecular mechanisms contributing to the mitotic chromosome formation.

Keyphrases: Cell Division, Chromosome Condensation, Topoisomerase II (topo-II), Ribonucleotide Reductase (RNR)
Les décisions rendues par les arbitres de griefs dans les cas de sanctions visant des policiers ayant eu des démêlés judiciaires

The purpose of this study focuses on the determination of sanctions to police officers who had legal issues during their period of employment, on the influence of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms through section 18.2 regarding this determination and on methods used in arbitrations. There are two opposing methods on the subject, the “broad and liberal” and the “strict and literal”. The “broad and liberal” method is derived from the application of article 18.2 of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which is a quasi-constitutional law and provides an objective analysis of the connection between the employment of the police officer and the penal or criminal offense that he was convicted. As for the “strict and literal” method for determination of the sanction, it comes from the application of the Police Act which is an ordinary law providing special treatment for police officers found guilty of criminal offenses. Indeed, the article 119 of the Police Act has enforced, since its redesign in 2000, the automatic dismissal of police officers convicted of an act or omission that is triable only on indictment and the dismissal imposition for any police officer who is found guilty of an act or omission punishable on summary conviction or by indictment, unless the police officer shows that specific circumstances justify another sanction. The analysis in the context of this research is about the determination of sanctions guiding the decisions made by arbitrators regarding the situation of police officers accused and/or convicted of criminal offenses during employment. To this end, 25 arbitrations and judicial reviews were studied by content analysis using an analysis grid. The analysis of data has been carried out through qualitative analysis.

Keyphrases: police officer, criminal offense, connection between employment and criminal offense, article 18.2 Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, article 119 Police Act
Attention! Prêt? On s’enTraine!  
Étude d’efficacité d’un programme d’entraînement intensif des processus attentionnels chez des jeunes ayant subi un traumatisme craniocérébral

Attention dysfunctions following traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently complicate the return to activities of daily living and negatively influence professional and socioacademic reintegration. Yet, clinicians in rehabilitation settings have limited access to cognitive remediation protocols for which efficacy has been demonstrated and that are adapted to French populations. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the intensive attention process training program « Attention! Prêt? On s’enTraine! » (Séguin, Lahaie & Beauchamp, 2012) based on a French adaptation of the « Attention Process Training-I » program (APT-I; Sohlberg & Mateer, 1987). Over five weeks, 17 participants who sustained TBI and demonstrated attention deficits received either the attention process training intervention (n = 8) or homework assistance (n = 9). Following the intervention, the experimental group improved on functions targeted by the « Attention! Prêt? On s’enTraine! » program, specifically, visual scanning, visual selective attention and attentional shifting. They also showed significant transfer gains on related tasks including measures of working memory, inhibition, mental flexibility and visuoconstructive planning. The demonstration of a positive effect of an intensive attention training program on attentional performances after TBI is likely to support and reinforce the development and validation of French cognitive remediation protocols, ultimately leading to improvements in the prognosis for individuals with TBI.

Keyphrases: Attention, Adolescents, APT, Traumatic brain injury, TBI, Attention, Memory, Executive functions, Rehabilitation, Intensive training, Teenagers, Children, APT
Les négociations des plaidoyers de culpabilité : la pratique des avocats de la défense

This research paper aims to describe and understand the professional practices of criminal lawyers during plea bargaining, a well established phenomenon which is more pervasive than is commonly understood. Our study focuses on interviews of twelve criminal lawyers working at the Montréal courthouse. Our analysis emphasizes different elements related to the case, the defendant or lawyers’ professional considerations that can influence the negotiation process. We also show how those elements can be seen in a different way depending on the lawyer and the specific case they defend. Moreover, our lawyers’ interviews show that there is no uniformity in the way they handle cases, depending on their level of involvement (in the case, in their relationships…).

Keyphrases: plea bargaining, guilty plea, sentencing, criminal lawyers, professional practices
Une activité d'élaboration d'hypothèses pour soutenir le développement du RCI d'étudiantes en sciences infirmières

Teaching and learning clinical reasoning has been a major concern amongst nurse educators for many years. Hypothesis generation is a critical milestone in clinical nursing reasoning which students are still struggling with at the end of their program. In a qualitative exploratory study, we tested a vignette-based activity to provide to the students an opportunity to specifically practice hypotheses generation. The study aimed at documenting nursing student’s capacity to formulate hypotheses during the activity. Seventeen nursing students in the last semester of their program were recruited by convenience and grouped accordingly to their availability to participate. The activity was held four times. Participants were asked to focus on a brief clinical vignette and to build an algorithm that would include 1) their hypotheses regarding the nature of the problem, 2) the essential pieces of information to collect in order to verify each hypothesis, and 3) the way the information was to be found. The combined methods used for data collection were participative observation, videotaping the activity and a written questionnaire immediately after the activity. Data were then classified in matrices in the form of verbatim and notes using clinical nursing reasoning skills described by Fonteyn (1998) as the theoretical framework. Results suggest that the vignette-based activity does stimulate students to formulate hypotheses. It also stimulates sharing and recollection of knowledge amongst students. This type of activity could therefore be useful in promoting the development of clinical reasoning as a complement to other educative activities used in nursing education programs.

Keyphrases: Clinical nursing reasoning, Hypothesis generation, Competency based approach
Effets de la perfusion pulsatile durant une circulation extra-corporelle

INTRODUCTION : Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during cardiac surgery leads to postoperative pulmonary complications. The use of pulsatile pressure with an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) could preserve the endothelial function and decrease the occurence of pulmonary problems. MATERIAL AND METHODS : Twelve Landrace-Yorkshire swine were divided into two groups, one group (n=6) received pulsatile perfusion under CPB from an IABP in an internal mode at 80 beats per minute (bpm) and the other (n=6) had a standard CPB of 90 minutes. A third group (n=4) has been used as controls without CPB. The two first groups underwent aortic clamping for 80 minutes with administration of intermittent blood cardioplegia. After 60 minutes of reperfusion following of bypass, swine were sacrificed and pulmonary arteries were harvested. Haemodynamic values were calculated including pulmonary arterial pressures (PAP), mean arterial pressures (mAP), lactate production, blood glucose and cardiac index. Pulmonary arteries were placed in organ chambers and vascular reactivity studies were performed. RESULTS : There was a trend towards lower lactate production with use of pulsatile perfusion after 60 minutes of reperfusion. All other hemodynamics were not significally different in both groups.  Relaxation to bradykinin was greater in pulsatile group while relaxation to acetylcholine did not differ. CONCLUSION : IABP induced pulsatile pressure protect the pulmonary endothelium during CPB. This could be explained by an increase in blood flow through the bronchial arteries or by a decreased release of cytokines or bradykinin which could reduce reperfusion damage.

Keyphrases: CPB, Pulsatile, IABP, endothelium, lungs, bradykinin, pulmonary, cardiac, surgery
Étude de la voie HOX-Flt3 dans les leucémies de type pré-B induites par E2A-Pbx1

Introduction: Previous work in the laboratory have established that Hoxa9 accelerated the onset of E2A-PBX1 induced B cell leukaemia. qRT-PCR analysis showed that RNA levels of HOXA9 target Flt3 was 32-fold increased in Hoxa9/E2A-PBX1 compared to E2A-PBX1 leukaemia. It is important to note that aberrant expression of Flt3 is found in both B-ALL and AML. Moreover, constitutive activation of Flt3 is associated with a poor prognosis. We hypothesized that the acceleration of E2A-PBX1 B-ALL by Hoxa9 is caused through increased Flt3 signalling.  Methods and Results: First, to evaluate whether Flt3 signalling is functionally relevant for E2A-PBX1 induced leukaemia, Flt3 expression was analysed by FACS and qRT-PCR. So far, we showed that E2A-PBX1 B-ALL express FLT3 but the receptor was detected on a variable proportion of the cells, ranging from 0.3-28 %. Secondly, we evaluated the leukemic potential of Flt3 positive and negative fractions. Both reinitiate leukaemia around 20 days post-transplantation. Thirdly, a shRNA mediated knockdown strategy for Flt3 has been applied to test the relevance of Flt3 signalling on E2A-PBX1 leukemic cells. To test this, primary leukaemic cells were infected, either with the shRNA anti-Flt3 or the shRNA control, and transplanted into recipient mice.  Unexpectedly, no difference was observed between the two groups of mice. Conclusion and Relevance: Our shFLT3 is not efficient enough on the chosen leukemic cells. Therefore, we propose to apply the same set-up to a less aggressive leukaemia. Moreover, transplanting cells in Flt3-/- KO mice is required to really assess the impact of Flt3 signalling.

Keyphrases: ALL-B, Hoxa9, B-ALL, E2A-PBX1 induced leukaemia, Hoxa9, Flt3 signalling
Les macrophages d’ascendance européenne et africaine répondent différemment aux infections bactériennes

Previous studies demonstrate that people of African and European ancestry differ in their susceptibility to certain infectious diseases. Differences in infection progression between these populations suggest inter-population variation in the immune response, possibly caused by adaptation to the pathogens of their historical environments. Here, we characterize the immune response of people of African and European ancestry to bacterial infections. Monocyte-derived macrophages from 30 African Americans (Africans) and 31 European Americans (Europeans) were infected with the intracellular pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium for 4 hours and whole genome gene expression of infected and non-infected cells was measured by RNA-sequencing. Macrophage control of bacterial infection at 2, 4 and 24 hours was assessed by culturing infected cell lysate and counting colony-forming units to approximate bacterial survival rate. We found that macrophages derived from Africans presented fewer intracellular bacteria after 4 and 24 hours than Europeans, suggesting that Africans better control intracellular bacterial infections. Concordant with this observation, we identified inter-population differences in cytokine secretion and gene expression that might explain this pattern of increased infection control in Africans. Interestingly, several of those differences indicate that Africains have a stronger pro-inflammatory response than Europeans. We show that several of these genes appear to have been subject to recent selection in the Europeans population alone. We also identify multiple candidate genes that may affect the course of infection in these populations. Overall, our findings suggest that differences in infectious disease progression observed in Africans and in Europeans may be the outcome of natural selection.

Keyphrases: Immunologie, Human genomics, Host-pathogen interactions, Gene expression, Immunology, Population genetics
Légaliser la vente de reins : à quel prix… Compte-rendu de The Kidney Sellers: A Journey of Discovery in Iran par Sigrid Fry-Revere

The Kidney Sellers: A Journey of Discovery in Iran is a book that describes the implementation of a regulated kidney market as a means to solve the organ shortage. The author, Sigrid Fry-Revere, travelled to Iran to study the effects of the regulated market in that country. The book is clearly in favour of a market. The long-term adverse consequences to those selling their organs are very poorly described, nor are other means to increase organ donations rates addressed.

Keyphrases: Iran, transplantation, organ market, kidney, bioethics
La recherche sur le transfert des connaissances en santé publique dans les pays à faible revenu : une synthèse exploratoire

Making use of the knowledge that comes from research has the potential of improving the quality and the offer of services targeted to the population. The integration of this knowledge to the interventions and decision making processes in healthcare is all the more central in countries with low income in which the financial, logistical, and human resources are limited, and in which public health concerns affect an alarming proportion of the population. The current study aims to describe the present state of research on knowledge transfer on public health in low-income countries. In order to do that, we conducted an exploratory synthesis abiding by the systematic method of PRISMA. 28 studies were selected. All in all, these studies evaluate multiple knowledge transfer strategies, of which the most common are training programs, distribution of material, and train the trainer programs. Other strategies are based on the distribution of educational materials, feedback and supervision, implementation of guidelines, etc. The agents of transfer that are implicated are mostly “non specialized” trainers and specialists of health; the potential users are mostly first-line health workers and consumers of services, especially women and young children. Globally, studies report positive results, many of which are significant: an increase in recommended practices, more utilization of essential products, and a better understanding of transferred knowledge. We also note the evaluation of some novel strategies such as artistic performances and playful activities. These strategies have shown encouraging results and are much appreciated by both transfer agents and users. In terms of the research methodology, the majority of studies use qualitative designs and have essentially been published in the last decade. Multiple research instruments are being used, but very few studies report their psychometric properties. In that sense, it is difficult for us to attest to their methodological quality and the results of these studies should therefore be nuanced. We finally note the importance of the health issues being addressed, the presence of novel strategies and the specificity of some conditions of utilization in the context of low-income countries. In conclusion, we propose future directions that could guide new research on the subject.

Keyphrases: scoping study, public health, low-income countries, knowledge translation, evidences based practice, effect and process, clinical psychology
Les stratégies de compréhension lors de lectures à voix haute : accompagnement parental auprès d’enfants de cinq ans

A parent’s role in their child’s reading development is important, and reading to your child is a family literacy practice that is strongly encouraged by society.  This research describes parental support specifically in relation to reading comprehension strategies used between the parent and child while the parent is reading out loud. We observed 10 parents read aloud an alphabet book, a narrative text with an element of suspense, a narrative text without suspense, and a non-fiction text to their five year old child. It turns out that the reading comprehension strategies used by parents differed according to the type of text being read.  The children with the lowest results (letter sound recognition, story recall, and comprehension of vocabulary and syntax) used less comprehension strategies during read alouds than the children with higher results. We also observed support offered by parents of children with lower and higher results.  These two groups of parents differ by the quality and the frequency of their use of reading comprehension strategies. In fact, we noticed that parents who guide their child in using reading comprehension strategies are associated with their children having better results in reading.  Finally, we verified the family literacy practices (time exposed to reading, accessibility of books, family members modelling reading, attitude of parents toward reading, and activities that promote letter sound knowledge/phonemic awareness). Only the family practice of creating activities to further develop letter sound knowledge/phonemic awareness was directly linked to the child’s results.

Keyphrases: Parent, Reading out-loud, Reading comprehension strategies, Kindergarten
To Say or not to Say: Dyadic Ambivalence over Emotional Expression and its Associations with Sexual Function, Satisfaction, Depression, Dyadic Adjustment, and Pain in Women with Provoked Vestibulodynia and their Partners

Introduction. Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a highly prevalent and taxing female genital pain condition. Despite the intimate nature of this pain and the fact that affective factors such as anxiety have been shown to modulate its manifestations, no study has yet explored the emotional regulation of couples in which the woman suffers from PVD.  Aim. Ambivalence over Emotional Expression (AEE) is an emotional regulation variable that quantifies the extent to which a person is comfortable with the way s/he expresses emotions. We examined whether the dyadic AEE of couples in which the woman suffers from PVD was differentially associated with their psychological, sexual and relational functioning. Methods. Couples (N = 254) in which the woman suffered from PVD completed the Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Questionnaire. A typology of couples was created: ‘HH’ couples with both partners high on AEE, ‘LL’ couples with both partners low on AEE, and intermediate couples. Dependent measures for both members of the couple were the (i) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale, the (ii) Female Sexual Function Index/Global Score of Sexual History Form, the (iii) Beck Depression Inventory II, and the (iv) Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Women also completed the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Results. ‘LL’ couples had the highest scores on sexual satisfaction (p = .04) and function (p = .01), the least depressive symptomatology (p < .01), and the best dyadic adjustment (p = .02).  No difference in pain intensity was found between couples. Conclusions. Findings suggest that, for couples in which the woman suffers from PVD, an emotional regulation that is low in ambivalence in both partners is associated with better psychological, sexual and relational outcomes.

Keyphrases: Provoked vestibulodynia, Chronic pain, Ambivalence over emotional expression, Sexuality, Sexual function, Sexual satisfaction, Couples, Dyadic, Dyadic adjustment, Clinical psychology