NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Mesure de la mortalité des médecins au Québec à partir de données administratives

The goal of this research is to obtain an approximate measurement of the mortality of male physicians in the province of Quebec who are considered under this study. Physicians’ mortality rates were analyzed in terms of changes between the years 1993-1998, 1999-2004 and 2005-2010, as well as being compared with the mortality rates of Quebec men at large. In addition, the mortality rates of male general practitioners were compared to those of physicians practicing a medical specialty. The data used in the production of this paper is derived from an administrative file provided by the Collège des médecins du Québec, which contains information on a certain number of physicians who had previously obtained a permit to practice medicine in the province, irrespective of their status within the Collège at the time that the file was released. This data was not collected for statistical purposes and therefore, the file presents certain constraints that restrict our mortality analysis, in particular due to the absence of information regarding the population at risk of death in each of the periods studied here. That said, while we were conscious of the bias that could result from this, we have produced two estimates of these physicians' exposure to risk of death, in order to try to compensate for the file's limitations, in as much as possible. By using the first method of calculation, we have assessed mortality rates for quinquennial age groups of physicians between the ages of 40 and 75 that are currently part of the membership roll. Using the second method of calculation, we obtained mortality rates for physicians belonging to the same age groups, except that this time, registered physicians of all statuses were considered. We believe the mortality measurements for male physicians are acceptable as long as any analysis thereof doesn’t overlook the limitations of the data. The results obtained demonstrated a reduction in mortality among male physicians from one period to the next, but the differences were only significant for groups above the age of 60, especially upon comparing the periods of 1993-1998 and 2005-2010. In addition, during every period studied, mortality rates among the province's entire male population proved to be higher than the mortality rates among the registered male physicians present in the file; this result was obtained for both methods of calculation of the exposure to risk of death. Finally, this study did not demonstrate a significant difference between mortality among general practitioners and specialists.

Keyphrases: Québec, Collège des médecins du Québec, mortality, male physicians, male population, medical specialty, mortality rates, Quebec, administrative file, Collège des médecins du Québec
Le discours muséal à travers l'exposition des collections de quatre musées d'art : Montréal, Québec, Joliette et Sherbrooke

Art museums are the perfect settings to gaze at past and actual works of art. According to their mandate, the museums have to conciliate two functions that can be difficult to manage, that is to say their functions of enjoyment and education. Some favor one approach instead of the other, but each museum is subjective in the way it exhibits works of art. Even if the art seems to be displayed naturally in the galleries, everything that is related to the conception and the realisation of the exhibition is the object of a construction and results from a decision of the museum. In accordance with their choices, that is to say which objects are presented or not, and the way they are exhibited, the museums contribute to define what art is, and influence the meanings of the works of art. Consequently, each museum transmits its own vision of art history and its institutional values. This particular discourse can be foregrounded as much by the writings installed near the works of art as by the museography around them. With a comparative analysis of four fine arts museums from the province of Quebec (Canada), this thesis explores a typology of museums discourses, as well as the intertwined relations between the different components of those discourses and the works of art that are shown in their galleries.

Keyphrases: collection, Museum, exhibition, Quebec art, museum discourse
Nietzsche et le problème de Socrate

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate Nietzsche’s analysis and assessment of the meaning and the impact of Socrates’ character on the classical and modern culture. To that effect, I will emphasize the question of Socrates’ identity, in order to introduce the crucial issue in Nietzsche’s analysis, namely the distinction between Socrates’ doctrine and his character. Nietzsche isolated Socrates’ character – which he defined through the categories of instinct, drive, and affect – from his doctrine, which he labelled socratism and defined through the Socratic equation reason = virtue = happiness. This thesis explores the three core elements Nietzsche used to explain how Socrates was able to seduce the Greeks: not only was Socrates a very erotic figure, he also introduced a new form of debate to Athens, and was considered an eminent physician by his contemporaries. Socrates’ appeal to the Greek is of fundamental importance to Nietzsche, since it prompted him to question Socrates’ inherent character, and his true impact on Athenian culture. It thus forms the crux of what he called “the problem of Socrates.” Nietzsche’s understanding of socratism as well as its impact on classical and modern culture allows him to revaluate all values within his own culture. To that effect, I reveal Nietzsche’s critiques of socratism – in particular, his belief that society needed to be liberated from socratism, since it denies all agency to individuals. Given that it was strongly motivated by the unconscious, socratism, according to Nietzsche, overemphasizes a certain morality in the struggle against our dominant impulses.

Keyphrases: Nietzsche, Socrate, Instinct, Culture, Socrates, Socratism, Drive
À la cheville des temps : la construction du présent dans la littérature narrative française au tournant du XXIe siècle

This doctoral thesis highlights present-day French authors’ narrative strategies used to illustrate and conceive the present. Our central hypothesis is that through an act of utterance intermeshing discourse and narration, as well as the critical and pragmatic use of references to the past, today’s narrative literature offers a counterpoint to the “presentism” described by François Hartog (i.e. a retrospective look at eras in which the present is both the vantage point and the point under observation). By so doing, contemporary authors offer a system of historicities where the past and the future are linked to the present in order to reconcile the link between the three temporal categories and reveal a present which, otherwise, would remain narratively elusive or subrogated to the authority of a past or a future that dictates its behaviour.  By distancing their works from the fictional genre and from the narrative form it embodies, Pierre Bergounioux, François Bon, Olivier Cadiot, Annie Ernaux, Chloé Delaume, Jean Echenoz and Olivier Rolin, amongst others, are part of the enunciative tradition of the narrative, considered here as a literary genre in which the enunciation and the text in gestation are, in and of themselves, their own intrigue. In the contemporary narrative, the aim of the enunciation subject is to clarify its relationship to time by using enunciative scenes having to do with this quest and the conversation so that from a personal and intellectual anamnesis, as well as from the clash of a memory with its recounting, emerge the characteristics integral to the present experience. And yet, one of the characteristics of the present that the contemporary subject experiences seems to be a resistance to narration and to storytelling, which makes it almost impervious to literary analysis. Authors take up this opposition to storytelling by using, in an effort to bring the immediacy of the present to the foreground, the note, the journal entry, and literary genres that thwart narration, such as poetry. In spite of their enunciative efforts to distil the present from the operation that transforms it into the past, these authors are nevertheless faced, time and again, with having to live the immediate dissipation of the present and their inability to capture in a literary form its essence. Perhaps the only way to offer a glimpse of this is to try to create the present by repeatedly showing the impossibility of such an achievement.

Keyphrases: Enunciation theory, Present, Contemporary french narrative literature, System of temporalities, Narrative pragmatics, Intertextuality, Pierre Bergounioux, Annie Ernaux, Olivier Rolin, Jean Echenoz, Olivier Cadiot, Chloé Delaume, Lydie Salvayre, Richard Millet
Analyse de groupe d’un modèle de la plasticité idéale planaire et sur les solutions en termes d’invariants de Riemann pour les systèmes quasilinéaires du premier ordre

The objects under consideration in this thesis are systems of first-order quasilinear equations. In the first part of the thesis, a study is made of an ideal plasticity model from the point of view of the classical Lie point symmetry group. Planar flows are investigated in both the stationary and non-stationary cases. Two new vector fields are obtained. They complete the Lie algebra of the stationary case, and the subalgebras are classified into conjugacy classes under the action of the group. In the non-stationary case, a classification of the Lie algebras admissible under the chosen force is performed. For each type of force, the vector fields are presented. For monogenic forces, the algebra is of the highest possible dimension. Its classification into conjugacy classes is made. The symmetry reduction method is used to obtain explicit and implicit solutions of  several types. Some of them can be expressed in terms of one or two arbitrary functions of one variable. Others can be expressed in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions. Many solutions are interpreted physically in order to determine the shape of realistic extrusion dies. In the second part of the thesis, we examine solutions expressed in terms of Riemann invariants for first-order quasilinear systems. The generalized method of characteristics, along with a method based on conditional symmetries for Riemann invariants are extended so as to be applicable to systems in their elliptic regions. The applicability of the methods is illustrated by examples such as non-stationary ideal plasticity for an irrotational flow as well as fluid mechanics equations. A new approach is developed, based on the introduction of rotation matrices which satisfy certain algebraic  conditions. It is directly applicable to non-homogeneous and non-autonomous systems. Its efficiency is illustrated by examples which include a system governing the non-linear superposition of waves and particles. The general solution is constructed in explicit form.

Keyphrases: Partial differential equations, First-order quasilinear systems, Analysis of the symmetry Lie group and Lie algebra of differential systems, Symmetry reduction method, Conditional symmetry method, Invariant, partially invariant and conditionally invariant solutions, Generalized method of characteristics, Riemann invariants, Ideal plasticity, Extrusion dies
A mitochondrial perspective on striated muscle physiopathology: insights from sepsis, denervation, and dystrophinopathies

Mitochondria are increasingly being recognized for their role in contributing in cellular damage. Mitochondrial dysfunctions, in addition to causing energy failure, contribute to apoptotic signaling, stimulate ROS production and calcium overload. These are all features of various types of myopathies. This thesis sheds light on how mitochondrial dyfunctions may contribute to the pathogenesis in certain myopathies that have been found to show mitochondrial abnormalities. Specifically, we found that although mitochondrial dysfunctions are involved in denervation-associated atrophy, desensitizing mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening through genetic ablation of CyclophilinD does not prevent mitochondrial apoptotic signaling nor atrophy in this model of chronic inactivity. We also observed mitochondrial dysfunctions in the Duchenne dystrophic muscle that were improved after PGC1-α transfection, which also resulted in an amelioration of the disease presentation. Finally, we found that mitochondrial recycling, led by Parkin and alternate mitophagy pathways a crucial component of cardiac recovery in sepsis.

Keyphrases: mitochondria, striated muscle, muscular dystrophy, denervation, sepsis, mitophagy, cardiomyopathy, atrophy, biogenesis, cardiac metabolism, cardiomyopathie
Une approche multi-agents pour le développement d'un jeu vidéo

A multi-agent system is composed of several autonomous agents that interact with each other in a common environment. This thesis aims to demonstrate the use of a multi- agent system for the development of a video game. First, a justification of the artificial intelligence’s concepts used in this master’s thesis is exposed. Subsequently, a practical approach is used in developping a video game. To do this, the game was developed from an existing single-agent video game and modified into a multi-agent system in order to properly highlight the benefits of a multi-agent system in a video game. The development of this game also demonstrate the application of other concepts in artificial intelligence such as pathfindinig and behaviour trees. In summary, the use of a multi- agent system has achieved a more realistic behavior for the non-human players and a more competitive gameplay for the human player.

Keyphrases: Artificial Intelligence, Video Games, Multi-agents Systems, Pathfinding, Behaviour Trees
Étude longitudinale des liens prédictifs entre les traits de personnalité et les symptômes intériorisés à l'adolescence

The goal of this longitudinal study was to determine if personality traits (according to the Big Five model) in early adolescence (12-13 years old) can predict internalizing symptoms two years later (14-15 years old), after controlling for the initial level of internalizing symptoms and the influence of various known risk factors. Data came from a prospective longitudinal study. The sample includes 1036 adolescents from eight high schools in the province of Quebec. Adolescents filled a self-reported questionnaire. Structural equation models first confirmed that internalizing symptoms can be conceptualized as a latent variable. Other models showed that some personality traits do predict subsequent internalizing symptoms. However, unlike adult studies, the role of Emotional stability and Extraversion is not significant after controlling for known risk factors and gender. In this study, it is rather Conscientiousness and Agreeableness which are significantly related to subsequent internalizing symptoms. Indeed, a low level of Conscientiousness and a high level of Agreeableness are significantly related to subsequent internalizing symptoms among adolescents. The results also confirmed the important role of peer relationships factors. Finally, multiple-group structural equation models showed significant gender-specific predictive relations. This study confirms that adolescents’ personality traits can play a role in the development of internalizing symptoms, which supports their relevance for both theory and clinical practice.

Keyphrases: Adolescence, Personality traits, Internalizing symptoms, Adolescence, Predictive relations, Risk factors, Gender
Effect of exercise training on preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension in a mouse model

Preeclampsia is among the leading causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity, affecting 2-7% of pregnancies. Its incidence increases to 10-25% in already hypertensive women. To date, no treatment, aside from delivery, is known. Interestingly, several studies have reported that exercise training (ExT) can reduce preeclampsia prevalence although the available studies are considered insufficient. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the impact of ExT when practiced before and during gestation on pregnancy outcome in a mouse model of preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension (SPE). To do so, mice overexpressing both human angiotensinogen and renin (R+A+) were used because they are hypertensive at baseline and they develop many hallmark features of SPE. Mice were trained by placing them in a cage with access to a running wheel 4 weeks before and during gestation. ExT in this study prevented the rise in blood pressure at term observed in the sedentary transgenic mothers. This may be realized through an increased activity of the angiotensin-(1-7) axis in the aorta. In addition, ExT prevented the increase in albumin/creatinine ratio. Moreover, placental alterations were prevented with training in transgenic mice, leading to improvements in placental and fetal development. Placental mRNA and circulating levels of sFlt-1 were normalized with training. Additionally, the increase in angiotensin II type I receptor and the decrease in Mas receptor protein were reversed with training. ExT appears to prevent many SPE-like features that develop in this animal model and may be of use in the prevention of preeclampsia in women.

Keyphrases: Superimposed preeclampsia on chronic hypertension, Exercise training, Transgenic model, Renin-angiotensin system, Placenta
Caractérisation neuro-immunitaire d'un modèle d'encéphalomyélite auto-immune expérimentale spontanée

Multiple sclerosis is an idiopathic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. It is characterized by the formation of focal perivascular lesions and demyelination of the surrounding area, which appear concomitantly to a massive immune cell infiltration and disruption of the blood brain barrier. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis is the animal model most extensively used for the study of multiple sclerosis. Unfortunately, this model does not mimic many aspects of the human disease. The goal of this project is to further the characterization of a new transgenic model of spontaneous experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the TCR1640 model, and to validate it as a relevant tool for the study of multiple sclerosis physiopathology and treatment. The TCR1640 mouse possesses a transgenic T cell receptor which recognizes a myelin peptide and triggers an autoimmune response against endogenous myelin in the central nervous system. In situ and in vitro observations have led to the identification of early changes which appear at the neurovascular unit in presymptomatic TCR1640 animals. This early disruption of blood brain barrier homeostasis is linked to the establishment of a proinflammatory immune profile in the periphery. Animals at the chronic stage show sustained inflammation of the central nervous system parenchyma and massive leukocyte infiltration, compared to animals in acute phase of disease. An in vivo experiment has allowed modulating the disease by treatment with a multiple sclerosis-approved therapy, in wild type mice which had received reactivated CD4+ T cells from TCR1640 animals. Finally, the implication of new cell adhesion molecules in the development and maintenance of spontaneous experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis has been suggested by in vitro study of melanoma cell adhesion molecule (CD146) and activated leucocyte cell adhesion molecule (CD166). The results obtained in this study suggest that the TCR1640 model is a valuable asset in the study of neuroimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. It could also be used to validate new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this disease.

Keyphrases: Neuroinflammation, Blood-brain barrier, Central nervous system, Neuroinflammation, Neurovascular unit, Multiple sclerosis, Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, Cell adhesion molecules
Un outil d’évaluation neurocognitive des interactions humain-machine

More and more researches on Human-Computer Interactions (HCI) are trying to perform detailed analyses of interaction to determine its influence on users’ behaviours. A particular emphasis is now put on emotional reactions during the interaction, whether it’s from the perspective of user experience evaluation or user performance. Standard qualitative approaches are limited because they are based on observations and interviews after the interaction, therefore limiting the precision of the diagnosis. User experience and emotional reactions being, by nature, highly dynamic and contextualized, evaluation approaches should be the same to accurately diagnose the quality of interaction. This thesis presents an evaluation approach, both dynamic and quantitative, which allows contextualising users’ emotional reactions to help identify their causes during the interaction with a system. To this end, our work focuses on three main axes: 1) automatic task recognition using machine learning modeling of eye tracking and interaction data; 2) automatic inference of psychological constructs (emotional activation, emotional valence, and cognitive load) through physiological signals analysis; and 3) diagnosis of users’ reactions during interaction based on the coupling of the two previous operations. The ideas and development of our approach are illustrated using two experimental contexts: e-commerce and simulation-based training. We also present the tool we implemented in order to allow HCI professionals (e.g.: user experience expert, training supervisor, or game designer) to use our evaluation approach to assess interaction. This tool is designed to facilitate the triangulation of measuring instruments and the integration with more classical Human-Computer Interaction methods (ex.: surveys and observation coding).

Keyphrases: Human-computer interaction, eye-tracking, physiological measures, task recognition, user experience