NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Biocompatible polymer coatings for implants in the peripheral nervous system : in vivo study of polymer-coated microbeads in the rat sciatic model

Background: Implants in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) can potentially restore sensory feedback, improve motor control and alleviate phantom-limb pain in upper-limb amputees. However, nervous system implants have poor long-term function and biocompatibility when implanted into the body due to foreign body reaction. Dendrimer (DND) and Poly-D-Lysine (PDL) are two synthetic polymers with properties that could improve the performance of these interfaces. In my masters’ research, my objective is to determine whether these synthetic polymers could promote the formation of presynaptic elements on artificial surfaces in vivo making intraneural implants more biocompatible and long-lasting. Methods: In the coated microsphere in vivo experiment, a nerve crush injury model in the rat was used for the study. PDL-coated, DND-coated and uncoated beads were injected into the rat sciatic nerve at the crush site and 5 mm distal to the crush site. The nerves were then harvested after 4, 6 and 8 weeks and stained for neurofilament and synaptophysin. Synaptophysin puncta were then counted on the bead surface for each group. Additionally, in a proof-of-concept experiment, two uncoated electrodes were implanted into the rat sciatic nerve. Nerve recordings were then performed every week, and the threshold nerve potential in the sciatic nerve was measured by only varying the pulse duration of the stimulation. Results: The coated microsphere in vivo experiment demonstrated that DND-coated microspheres had a significantly higher number of synaptophysin puncta around their surface from 4 to 8 weeks compared to uncoated beads. At 4 weeks, the DND condition also showed a significantly higher number of synaptophysin puncta around its microbeads vs. the PDL condition for the distal site. In the uncoated electrode in vivo experiment, the results showed that the two implants could stimulate and record threshold nerve potentials in the rat sciatic nerve for one week and two weeks respectively before being non-functional. Conclusion: Our study showed for the first time that DND has a stable synapse-promoting property that is superior to PDL in vivo and that our electrode design can be used to assess the long-term signal stability of peripheral nerve implants.

Keyphrases: Lysine, Synthetic Polymers, Foreign Body Reaction, Microspheres, Synaptophysin, Nerve Crush, Amputees, Peripheral Nervous Injuries, Intraneural Electrodes
Perceptions de communautés québécoises à l’égard des ressources comestibles du fleuve Saint-Laurent

Context: The Saint-Lawrence hosts a great variety of edible resources, but they are largely unknown. Quebeckers currently consume mostly imported seafood products whereas the few marine species that are commercially fished in Quebec are mainly exported. However, it is reasonable to assume that habitants along the Saint-Lawrence River have a closer relationship with edible marine resources and a vision for promoting them which deserves to be heard. Manger notre Saint-Laurent (Sustenance from our Saint-Lawrence) is a research-action multidisciplinary project aiming the promotion of edible local marine resources in the Saint-Lawrence. Objectives: (1) Critical analysis of the participatory process used in four communities in Quebec for Manger notre Saint-Laurent, and (2) Analysis of results generated. Methods: Four partner communities have been identified as actors in this project: Cap-Chat, Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé, the Magdalen Islands and the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk (Maliseet Viger) First Nation. A group of 10 to 14 participants from various backgrounds was recruited from each community. The Nominal group technique was used and transcripts were qualitatively analyzed.  Results: All communities combined, winning strategies to increase supply were increasing local distribution networks and facilitating sustenance fishing. Winning strategies to increase demand were discovering the products through tasting and cooking, protecting cultural history of fishing, and marketing and educating about the products. Emergent species (sea urchins, algae, seals) particularly interested participants. The most popular target groups were youth and the community as a whole. Qualitative analysis revealed the important cultural ties to fishing in all communities. Also, critical analysis of the method revealed aspects like the importance of correctly recruiting participants, of having an experienced facilitator, and the usefulness of qualitative analysis. Conclusion: Our sample of Saint-Lawrence coastal communities created consensus around many resources that should receive more availability and more promotion, and around target groups that should include everyone in a community while targeting youth. This study is a first step in a research project that will lead to Quebeckers getting Sustenance from our Saint-Lawrence.

Keyphrases: fish, seafood, qualitative research, participatory, stakeholder, community, Saint-Lawrence, Magdalen Islands, Maliseet Viger
The consequences of CCL23/CCR1 axis signaling in KMT2A-MLLT3 acute myeloid leukemia

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is caused by abnormal proliferation of immature blood stem cells. Our lab focuses on an AML subgroup accounting for almost 20% of pediatric AML and characterized by a chromosomal translocation that generates the gene fusion: KMT2A-MLLT3 (KM3). Interestingly, RNA-seq analysis of our KM3 AML model and AML patient samples has revealed that the chemokine CCL23 and its corresponding receptor CCR1 are highly upregulated in this disease. Although it has been reported that CCL23 and CCR1 are implicated in leukocyte trafficking and development of inflammation, the exact roles of these two proteins in leukemia are unknown.  To illustrate the effects of CCL23/CCR1 signaling in the KMT2A-MLLT3 rearranged leukemia we employed the enhanced bystander bioluminescence resonance energy transfer 2 (ebBRET2) technique along with phospho-immunoblots assays. Our results revealed that CCL23/CCR1 axis signaling activates multiple intermolecular signaling effectors, including Gi2, G12/13, and β-arrestin1/2 albeit with a bias towards β-arrestin recruitment. We also showed that the CCR1 receptor exhibits a constitutive activity which can couple to a G-protein mediated pathway to activate the MAPK cascade. Finally, we showed that CCL23/CCR1 axis signaling causes an activation of ERK1/2 in AML cell lines potentially through a β-arrestin-mediated pathway.   These results indicate that the CCL23/CCR1 axis signaling activates several biological pathways than can provide major advantages for the AML disease development and progression thus presenting both CCL23 and CCR1 as interesting candidates for targeted therapy against KMT2A-MLLT3 AML.

Keyphrases: KMT2A-MLLT3, AML, CCL23/CCR1 axis signaling, eBRET2, MAPK cascade activation, Biased agonism, CCR1 constitutive activity, β-arrestin-dependent signaling
Analyse protéomique de la sénescence induite par la chimiothérapie dans le cancer de l'ovaire

Patients treated for an advanced ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) have a poor 5-year survival rate due to treatment resistance. Since 30 years, the therapeutic strategy consists of a combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel (CP). It is of the upmost urgency to find new treatments against this cancer. We studied the impact of CP treatment on an OCCC cell line and observed that it induced a senescence state in the cells. Senescent cells do not proliferate anymore but have a huge impact on their microenvironment by secreting a complex mix of molecules. We need to know better the characteristics of chemotherapy-induced senescent cells to be able to target them with new treatments. Consequently, we studied the cell surface proteins of senescent cells with a cutting-edge proteomic method. We found that the protein DNAJC5 was upregulated at the cell surface of senescent cells. This chaperone is implicated in exo- and endocytosis mechanisms, as well as in a non-conventional secretion pathway. We wanted to know if this pathway was activated in senescent cells and we studied the impact of DNAJC5 inhibition on the cell proteotoxicity and on senescence establishment. Our first results suggest that DNAJC5 would have a role in senescence, which has never been observed. In the future, this discovery could contribute to the development of new treatments for the COCC.

Keyphrases: surfaceome, DNAJC5, Ovarian cancer, non-conventional secretion pathways
Toujours mieux à deux? : reconstruction identitaire lors de la retraite chez les femmes sans conjoint

Retirement is often thought of in terms of couplehood, and the absence of a spouse as a source of support is often described in the existing literature as an obstacle to a positive adjustment to the transition to retirement. This dissertation examines the experience of the transition to retirement of women without a partner, as their reality is not explored, to our knowledge, in the current Quebec context. It has three objectives: to describe how they experience the impacts of retirement, to identify the factors that play a role in the experience of this transition, and finally it aims to understand how the (re)construction of their identities is realized during their transition to retirement, knowing that our identity reconstructs throughout the life course. It is through life stories that we were able to identify these changes, more specifically through the professional and romantic trajectories of ten retired women we interviewed in this study. Despite the importance highlighted in literature that partners are an important source of support during the transition to retirement, our results emphasize that not having a partner is not, for the majority, a source of difficulty during this transition or on a daily basis. On the contrary, many women consider themselves happy with their transitions and in their daily lives in the absence of a spouse. We also note a feeling of pride amongst the participants, enabled by the fact that they consider themselves as independent, and capable of supporting themselves. Beyond this feeling of accomplishment, and despite the wish of some to engage in a potential future relationship, these women perceive very positively their transition to retirement. In the absence of a spouse, the organization of their daily lives can then be carried out without having to negotiate, make compromises or sacrifices, their plans for retirement and their well-being belonging only to themselves.

Keyphrases: Retirement, Identity, Conjugality, Women, Life course, Life stories
La parentalité d’accueil dans le contexte des visites supervisées : étude sur le point de vue des parents d’accueil

The main objective of this research is to understand how foster parenting is exercised in the context of supervised visitation. From the foster families' point of view, this study aims to describe their understanding of supervised visits; their involvement in their planning; the support they provide to the child; the communication they have with various parties involved in supervised visits. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen foster parents affiliated with the youth program division from the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal. The interviews were subject to a continuous thematization. The theoretical and conceptual ecosystemic model of parenting was used to describe the various dimensions of foster parenting. The results of this research show that foster families have a good understanding of supervised visits in terms of their objectives and the reasons for their implementation. The foster families’ involvement in the planning of supervised visits varies. Some are involved in decision-making. While others have choices imposed on them by caseworkers. As for the accompaniment of children, a need for training and/or coaching was identified by a good number of foster families. This study also shows that the majority of foster families have positive exchanges with caseworkers. As for communication with the child’s biological parents, a variety of experiences were reported by the foster families. The participants' discourse analysis highlighted the challenges of foster parenting in the context of supervised visits. It also raised issues related to the recognition of foster families as partners in the delivery of services to children. In conclusion, this research offers interesting avenues for reflection regarding foster parenting and practices for supervised visits.

Keyphrases: foster care, supervised visitation, parenthood, child protection
Quelles représentations sociales de la délinquance sexuelle chez les utilisateurs de réseaux sociaux numériques? : une étude exploratoire

The phenomenon of sexual offending has generated strong emotions and reactions among the population. Long lasting interest, curiosity, but especially social reactions, keep the subject popular on the social, political and media scenes. The legal and political measures adopted to manage this phenomenon have evolved according to these reactions, or rather, according to the social representations inspiring these reactions. Indeed, it has been shown that the public and activist movements had a great influence in the adoption of these measures. In addition, the rise in popularity of digital social networks (DSN) has offered a new environment in which these groups can exchange, debate, recruit and mobilize. Thereby, given the influence of the discourse of those groups on the adoption of measures to manage the phenomenon and given the growing popularity of DSN as a place of exchange on common interests, we found it relevant to look at the social representations carried by their users. Thus, the main objective of this master’s thesis is to describe the social representations of sexual offending carried by the users of a specific Facebook page. To do this, we performed a thematic content analysis of the comments and interactions between users, according to Moscovici’s social representation theory and its three components : information, representational field and attitudes. Overall, 821 comments, coming from 14 publications, were analyzed. The results show that sexual offending is a phenomenon that generates a lot of reactions and negative attitudes. The representations of the latter would also be organized under three dimensions : its cause and durability factors, its manifestations (acts, perpetrators and victims), as well as the responses to it. The results of this research open the door to new thoughts on the place and influence of attitudes in the social representation theory.

Keyphrases: Facebook, sexual offending, social representations, digital social networks, content analysis, sexual deviance
Facteurs spatio-temporels influençant les gaz à effet de serre en rivière tempérée

Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous dioxide (N2O) are three of the main greenhouse gases (GHGs) that influence climate change (IPCC, 2014). Variability in the riverine concentrations of these three GHGs is often related to land use, within river features, and hydrologic regimes. However, few studies have looked at the interacting influence of these factors on the coupled dynamics of these gases across seasons. Here, we measured CO2, CH4, and N2O concentrations and fluxes along a 146.6 km stretch of the main stem of a north temperate river, with a change in geology resulting in a sharp shift in land use once per season for three consecutive years. Strong seasonal differences in gas concentrations were observed: CO2 and N2O were both higher overall during winter but were occasionally undersaturated, whereas summer had the highest concentrations of CH4. Sites of major confluence had the highest emissions, acting as vents. Concentrations were influenced by land use, with the highest concentrations of all gases found in the lower reaches where urban and agricultural activity are most intensive. However, spatial variability was minimized during periods of high flow when the river acted more like a pipe. This suggests that how major gases are coupled is largely a function of differential processes across seasons. Although land use influenced the spatial variability in concentrations along the river, seasonal changes in temperature influenced the relative importance of the gases, and hydrology mediated their overall concentrations and emissions.

Keyphrases: hydrologie, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, rivers, greenhouse gases, biogeochemistry, seasons, hydrology
L’effet de la présence syndicale sur l’accès à des mesures de conciliation emploi-famille et leur efficacité perçue par les professionnel(le)s en ressources humaines

Even though workplaces have undergone several transformations in recent decades, employers are constantly looking for flexibility, which has particularly impacted employment status and working time. These changes had the effect of raising the issue of work/life balance (WLB) at the heart of discussions.  Although there has been progress in the labor market regarding WLB in recent years, some issues remain. The main one being the incompatibility between the professional and family spheres which can have negative repercussions.  This research will examine the effects of union presence on access to WLB measures and their perceived effectiveness by human resources professionals. This quantitative study is based on data collected by Émilie Genin and Mélanie Laroche, professors at the School of Industrial Relations of the University of Montreal between 2017 and 2018. The data was collected in partnership with the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines et relations industrielles agréés du Québec (CRHA). Our data is constituted by a sampling of 249 respondents. The research hypotheses were tested using data collected from human resources or industrial relations professionals, members of the Ordre des CRHA du Québec.  In this research, we sought to understand whether unionization has an effect on the number of WLB measures offered in the workplace and whether unionization has a moderating effect on the relationship between WLB measures and their perceived effectiveness. Our model allows us to make various findings. Research results show that unionization has no effect on the number of WLB measures offered in organizations. A positive relationship was also observed between the number of WLB measures and their perceived effectiveness by human resources professionals. Finally, our results show that unionization does not have a moderating relationship on the presence of WLB measures and their perceived effectiveness.  We aimed to contribute to the literature by focusing on the effect of union presence on access to WLB measures and their perceived effectiveness. While little research specifically examines these elements, our study allows for reflection on the impact of union presence on the WLB. This study also serves as a reference for all employers, unions and governments who wish to shed some light on the issue of WLB.

Keyphrases: Work/life balance (WLB), Work-life balance, WLB measures, Perceived efficiency and union presence
Le biais d’attribution d’intention hostile et les traits de la personnalité limite : une étude de potentiel relié aux évènements

This thesis examined cognitive processes underlying aggressive behaviour in a population with borderline personality traits (BPD), but not necessarily the diagnosis. The association between hostile attributional bias (HAB) and aggressive behaviour has been demonstrated in the literature, but this relationship has never been considered in people with BPD traits that show reactive aggressive behaviour. Our first aim was to conduct a methodological replication of the results of Gagnon and al. (2016) that used an event-related potential (ERP) method to evaluate HAB. The hostile expectancy violation paradigm elicits an N400 component, representing a negative-going ERP deflection when intention expectations are violated. The second aim was to verify the hypothesis that HAB would mediate the relationship between BPD traits and reactive aggressive behaviour. Sixty-three participants participated in the study.  The Personality Assessment Inventory-Borderline (PAI-BOR) was used to measure BPD traits and the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) was used to measure their tendency to react in aggressive manner. The results confirmed the existing relationship between BPD traits and reactive aggression, and between HAB and reactive aggression. The expected N400 effect in the non-hostile condition measuring the violation of hostile expectations, on the relationship between BPD traits and reactive aggression was not found. Other studies are necessary before suggesting that treatment based on biased interpretations in social interaction is effective.

Keyphrases: N400, Cognitive processes, Aggressive behaviour, BPD traits, HAB, ERP
Le statut de personne peut-il être octroyé aux animaux non humains?

In a context where the recognition of legal rights to certain nonhuman entities appears to be an increasingly plausible legal development, this master’s thesis proposes an exploration of the philosophical and legal literature in favor of granting legal personhood to animals. First, I will provide a brief historical overview of the notion of “person.” I will also note that, while it has been strongly associated with moral autonomy in the history of law and philosophy, this definition of personhood suffers from substantial inconsistencies in justifying the granting of legal personhood to non-autonomous human beings. It is the case, for instance, of children, comatose human beings, the mentally disabled, and the elderly. We will also see that granting legal rights to these individuals while refusing to recognize these same rights to nonhuman animals is based on fragile theoretical foundations that need to be rectified with a thorough analysis of the theories of animal rights proposed since the 1970s. These theories, specifically the ones put forward by Peter Singer, Tom Regan, and Gary Francione, will be examined to identify their respective strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the final chapter of this research will examine the decisive role that appeals to moral rights can play in granting legal rights to animals. It also outlines the various forms of legal personhood and political status that might be attributed to nonhuman animals.

Keyphrases: Peter Singer, Tom Regan, Gary Francione, Zoopolis, person, legal personhood, animal ethics, animal rights, moral autonomy, marginal cases
Autonomie et consentement éclairé à la participation aux biobanques : entre fondements philosophiques de l’éthique de la recherche et de l'éthique de la santé publique

This master's thesis attempts to answer the following question: what is the value of autonomy in biomedical research, and more particularly in the context of biobanks? To answer this question, we will study the concept of autonomy in two areas of applied ethics: research ethics and public health ethics. Since the second half of the 20th century, respect for individual autonomy has been a programmatic principle of research ethics. However, many authors consider this conceptualization to be too individualistic to respond to the challenges that characterize health research today. In public health ethics, on the contrary, individual autonomy takes a less preponderant role and acknowledges some socio-political dimensions of autonomy that have been neglected by the field of research ethics. These dimensions highlight the role of institutions in promoting autonomy as well as the need for individuals to have the opportunity to participate in the development of health policies in order to achieve their autonomy. Finally, the case study of biobanks will provide an opportunity to apply these different conceptualizations of autonomy to a rapidly expanding field of research located at the crossroads between research ethics and public health.

Keyphrases: philosophy, biobanks, autonomy, research ethics, public health ethics, informed consent