NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Calculs ab initio de structures électroniques pour un meilleur design de polymères photovoltaïques

This thesis focuses on the role of density functional theory in the design of polymers for photovoltaic applications.  Theoretical calculations are first studied in the characterization of polymers in the context of collaborations between theory and experiment. The stability and the energy levels of some organic molecules are studied before and after a sulfurization of their carbonyl groups, a process destined to lower the band gaps. The dynamics of the electronic processes and the Raman vibration spectra are also explored in a polycarbazole-based polymer.  From then, the usefulness of theoretical calculations in the design of polymers before their syntheses is explored. Density functional theory calculations are studied under the Scharber model in order to predict the efficiency of organic solar cells. Then, a new approach for the design of low band gap polymer based on the aromatic or quinoid structures is established, whose efficiency surpasses the actual donor-acceptor approach. These studies are used in the exploration of the chemical space and several candidate for polymers with interesting electronic properties are presented.

Keyphrases: Photovoltaics, Polymers, Organic materials, Electronic structure, Ab initio calculations, Density functional theory
Rapport M/L de disques de galaxies issus de modèles CSPE et contrôle des contraintes mécaniques dans la conception de revêtements optiques

The following thesis includes two parts: the first concentrates on mass models of galaxies while the second concerns the design of broadband optical coatings and the control of their mechanical properties.  Mass models presented here were performed on a subsample of ten galaxies from the SINGS survey.  It includes nine late-type regular galaxies as well as a dwarf galaxy. The work consisted in the determination at all radii of M/L ratio of galactic discs by choosing, amongst a grid of chemospectrophotometric galactic evolution models, the one that fits better the galaxy's multi-band photometric profile. Results from this work show that stellar discs weighted by the model's mass-to-luminosity ratio display consistent masses in all studied bands from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared (FUV to IRAC2 bands). The resulting discs are physically motivated and maximal, due to their mass-to-luminosity ratio being higher in the center of the galaxies than at their outskirts. In this maximal-disc situation, bars and bulges of galaxies can no longer be ignored and the appropriate corrections need to be made on the luminosity or circular velocity profiles of the galaxy.  In the second part, an additional module of the open source software Open Filters was written in order to take into account the mechanical properties of thin films in the design of optical coatings.  The mechanical stresses arising in optical coatings can have a deleterious effect on the optical performances of coatings, and this tool was meant to provide design capacities to minimize this effect. Broadband reflective coatings for Fabry-Perot plates were designed and fabricated as a proof of concept of the method. This specific case was interesting because the curvature induced by mechanical stresses induces decrease of the finesse of Fabry-Perot etalons.  Actual curvature of the deposited samples are coherent with the numerical calculations and undergo a substantial reduction for the two strategies devised here with this new design too. We therefore conclude that it is possible with this new software module to optimize coatings for their mechanical behaviour as well as for their optical properties.

Keyphrases: Galaxies kinematics, Mass/luminosity ratio, Chemo-spectrophotometric evolution models, Astronomical instrumentation, Optical coatings, Mechanical properties of thin films, Numerical coating design
Lagrangian-informed mixed integer programming reformulations

Integer linear programming is a robust and efficient approach to solve large-scale instances of combinatorial problems.  However, problems constantly gain in complexity and sometimes impose strong constraints on computation times.  We must then develop specialised methods to compute heuristic primal solutions to the problem and derive lower bounds on the optimal value, and thus prove the quality of our primal solutions.  We propose to guide a reformulation approach for mixed integer programs with Lagrangian relaxations.  After the identification of a strong relaxation, a mechanical process leads to a second integer formulation. This reformulation is equivalent to the initial one, but its linear relaxation is equivalent to the strong Lagrangian dual.  We will show that the reformulation approach unifies and generalises prior formulations and lower bounding approaches, and that it exposes a simple mechanism to reduce the size of reformulations in return for weaker bounds.  Nevertheless, our reformulations are large.  We address this issue by solving their linear relaxations with specialised methods.  Finally, we apply the reformulation approach to two location problems. This yields novel formulations for both problems; some are very large but, thanks to the aforementioned specialised methods, still practical.

Keyphrases: Operations research, Lagrangian relaxation, Mixed integer programming, Location problems
African Nazarites : a comparative religious ethnography of Rastafari and Ibandla lamaNazaretha

Two rapidly growing theological and cultural movements currently sparking global interest are Rastafari and Ibandla lamaNazaretha. Founded by the Zulu preacher Isaiah Shembe during the 1910s, Ibandla lamaNazaretha originated as a hierarchical church order that worships at outdoor temples in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and currently comprises a number of splinter groups centralized around the Southern African peninsula. Rastafari, however, born in Jamaica, commenced as a multi-headed ideology that blossomed in scattered pockets across the Caribbean island and stemmed from the interpretations of a prophecy generally attributed to Marcus Garvey about a king to be crowned in Africa (circa 1920) as applied to the 1930 coronation of Ras Tafari Makonnen as Haile Selassie I, 225th Emperor of Ethiopia. Today, Ibandla lamaNazaretha and Rastafari comprise adherents and sympathizers numbering in the tens of millions and their presences connote varying degrees of political, theological, social, and cultural influence, especially in Africa and the Caribbean today.  This dissertation argues that both Ibandla lamaNazaretha and Rastafari perpetuate a conflation between the “Nazirite” from the Old Testament (Numbers 6:1-8) and the “Nazorean” of Matthew 2:23 through the hailing of a contemporaneous saviour: i.e. Haile Selassie I for Rastafari and Isaiah Shembe for Ibandla lamaNazaretha. Within this theological framework, both Rastafari and Ibandla lamaNazaretha have provided renewed life to the long defunct Ancient Judaic purification rites of the Nazirite, but have also adapted them in the context of messianism for the benefits of Africanness and the postcolonial concerns of indigeneity. Thus, through the persistence of indigeneity, the influence of Indian ideals of peaceful resistance, and the appropriation of various biblical themes, both Black African movements have successfully empowered the dispossessed by creating liminal communities wherein expressions of agrarian self-reliance flourish outside the auspices of a subjugating elite; a hermeneutic of naziritism unifies the discernable African, Judaic, Christian, Indian, and European hybridic roots.

Keyphrases: Rastafari, Ibandla lamaNazaretha, Shembe, Bible, Naziritism, Nazarite, Africa, Jamaica, Nazirite, Nazorean
Transcendance et immanence chez Karl Rahner : échanges avec la philosophie de Gilles Deleuze

The question which moves throughout Karl Rahner’s work continues to lay down a principle: how can one make believable and convincing the revelation of God in Jesus to the people of today? This question must be considered again unceasingly in a practical reality of human life. In Rahner’s time, emphasis was placed into the transcendence of God. Since then, occidental culture was transformed: in the beginning of the 21st century, is showed a very obvious tendency of materialism, consumerism, individualism, relativism and secularism. Consequently, there is a tendency to evacuate the divine transcendence. Our research consists in exchanges between Karl Rahner’s theology and Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy, with the purpose of establishing possible conditions of Christian belief today. Deleuze’s philosophy introduces us into a creative process through which we can think radically of God as being at the same time transcendent and immanent. Our approach is developed with eight conceptual hybrids which help understand Rahners’s theology in another perspective and leads to the possibility of a Christian belief for today. Our research opens as well onto the perspective of theology meeting between the theological, philosophical, artistic and scientific worlds. Finally, it helps to enlighten the reality of the new evangelization in Christian Occident.

Keyphrases: Immanence, Karl Rahner, Gilles Deleuze, Christian theology, Transcendence, Revelation
Étude préliminaire d'une nouvelle méthode de cotation du dessin de la famille chez les enfants d'âge préscolaire agressés sexuellement

This study assesses whether scores on the family drawing, derived with a new scoring method, can predict the presence of internalized and externalized behavior problems among sexually abused children. A family drawing was completed by 78 sexually abused children. The non-offending parent completed the Child Behavior Checklist 1½-5 (Achenbach & Rescola, 2000), the Index of Psychological Distress (Ilfeld, 1976), and a questionnaire on stressful events that their child may have experienced. The results indicate that a higher score on the family drawing is associated with a higher probability of clinical thresholds for internalized and externalized behavior problems in children who have been sexually abused, even when controlling for parents’ psychological distress, child’s age, number of stressful events experienced by the child, and type of abuse. This new scoring method may offer relevant information in the context of assessment of internalized and externalized behavior problems for preschoolers who disclosed sexual abuse.

Keyphrases: Sexual abuse, Children, Assessment/evaluation, Clinical issues
Perception du soutien social chez les adolescentes victimes d'agression sexuelle

This study investigates the role of social support as a protective factor in the posttraumatic adjustment of sexually abused victims. Many studies show the protective role of social support but others find its positive impact varies according to the source of support (Ullman, 1996), the type of support (Feiring, Taska, & Lewis, 1998) or the victim’s perception (Campbell, Ahrens, Sefl, Wasco, & Barnes, 2001). A qualitative approach allows us to examine the complex process at play when social support impacts post-traumatic adjustment which then allows us to better identify and explore social support’s characteristics. The goal was to describe in depth and to better understand how sexually abused female teenagers perceive the social support they received. A semi structured clinical interview was used with eight sexually abused adolescents to document their perspectives and verbatim accounts were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Social support was mainly positive although three main negative reactions were identified: betrayal regarding the abuse, verbal and physical violence and negative rumors about the adolescents. This understanding of the perspective of these adolescents can lead to promoting better social support experiences in the future.

Keyphrases: Social support, Sexual abuse, Adolescents, Victims, Qualitative study
Boîte à outils destinée aux chercheurs de documents iconographiques

This toolkit brings together information which may help researchers in need of iconographic documents. Hundreds of still image suppliers' websites are suggested. These sources are image banks, photo agencies, micro-stock agencies, museum archives, institutional repositories, libraries’ collections, image hosting websites, in short, places that provide visual information usable accordingly to certain conditions. The toolkit is arranged by types of photographs (photojournalism, scientific photos, architectural photos, etc.).

Keyphrases: agence micro-stocks, agence photos
Le phénomène de la très faible natalité au Japon : une situation aux causes socio-économiques multiples

Japan is one of the countries with the lowest birthrate in the world since 1980s, and the low birthrate has lead to certain problems for the country. The Japanese government holds women responsible for the decreasing birthrate, stating that they are losing their traditional family values and becoming egocentric. This change is due to a higher level of education, accompanied by growing personal and professional expectations for women. In this thesis, we try to defend, with different theories on low birthrate, that even though there may be a change in values, it is not entirely responsible for the actual situation in Japan. We will cover the economic condition, the lack of gender equality in different spheres of life, and finally the change in traditional values.

Keyphrases: Japan, birthrate, demography, equality, market
Essai de détection de processus migratoires à travers les isotopes de strontium et d’oxygène : étude des restes humains du cimetière Saint-Matthew (Québec, 1771-1860)

In order to distinguish first-generation immigrants from individuals born in Québec City and discuss the identity of immigrants to this city in the 18th and 19th centuries, osteological analysis as well as strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic analysis have been applied to thirty-four human skeletons exhumed from the Protestant cemetery of Saint-Matthew (Québec City, 1771-1860). The isotopic compositions obtained, although not as precise as historical data, allowed the distinction between three groups of origin: individuals born in Québec City (N = 12), first-generation immigrants most probably from the British Isles or northern France (N = 19) and first-generation immigrants whose origin cannot be determined (N = 3). In addition, the Scottish origin of some individuals could be suggested on the basis of isotopic compositions ranging from -10.0 to -9.09% vs. VSMOW. The comparison of these groups with data from historical sources and a previous study provides an overall picture of the immigrants’ identity, on both an individual and a populational level. In addition, isotope compositions (δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr, δ13C and δ15N) suggest that at least one individual could be Native American and another could come from an 18O depleted part of Europe (possibly Scandinavia or the Alps). Moreover, the spatial organization of burials allows us to consider the possible family and social ties of some immigrants buried in brick vaults or crammed into particularly modest graves.

Keyphrases: immigration, strontium, provenance, Saint-Matthew, Québec, XVIIIe siècle, bioarchaeology, oxygen, origin, Saint-Matthew, Québec, 18th century, 19th century
The sculpture of Irma Stern (1922-1955)

This thesis proposes an unprecedented critical study of the sculptural production of the South African-born, German-Jewish artist Irma Stern (1894-1966). It seeks to open new perspectives on the art, the career, and the historical significance of a figure who is commonly celebrated for her pioneering contribution to the development of modern South African painting. This thesis’ contribution is twofold. Firstly, it offers the first comprehensive catalogue of Stern’s sculptural œuvre, bringing into focus a corpus of roughly thirty to fifty works, produced between the years 1922 and 1955 in a variety of different media, which display a consistent focus on the African female subject. Secondly, it analyzes and interprets Stern’s complete sculptural oeuvre. Mapping the narrative of Stern’s sculptural production onto the plot of her life and work as a painter of African subjects, it seeks to offer a richer understanding of the desires, anxieties, and concerns that underpinned Stern’s thirty-year-long engagement with African subject matter as well as an account of the racial power dynamics that are at play in her oeuvre. Through dedicated studies of Stern’s production in clay (1922), cement (1936-1945), and wonderstone and verdite (1936-1945), guided by concepts drawn from postcolonial, phenomenological, and sculptural theory, it tracks the changes in Stern’s sculptural approach to her subject matter and analyzes them in terms of Stern’s changing relationship with her African models. These analyses ultimately offer new directions for approaching Stern and framing her position in the history of South African art.

Keyphrases: Stern, Irma (1894-1964), South Africa - 20th century, Sculpture - 20th century, Women, black, in art, Global modernisms, Stern, Irma (1894-1964)
Les enjeux de la diversité ethnoculturelle dans les établissements scolaires : les sessions de formation interculturelle

In the last decades, increased and more diverse immigration has lead the government of Quebec taken different measures aimed to deal with this new reality. Thus, in 1998, the Quebec ministère d’Éducation established the Politique d’intégration scolaire et d’éducation interculturelle from which followed a Plan d’action that suggests many ways to achieve its principles and goals. To help implement this new vision, intercultural training sessions were created for teachers, non-teaching staff and principals. The study of ethnocultural diversity’s challenges in schools through intercultural training has shed light on school staff members’ point of view. Their perceptions were used along the various strategies of both researchers and trainers to further analyse the dynamic between schools and ethnocultural diversity. Many issues arose during training sessions and interviews with school staff members that are discussed in the thesis: the future of Quebec’s identity, the teacher’s ethics and various complex issues raised by school staff members. I show how the encounter with the Other obliges daily reflection on the self by the teachers, in particular, through the intercultural discourse of the actors in the school setting, the different values present in the professional milieu, and the reflexivity promoted by those in charge of their training.

Keyphrases: Anthropology, Ethnology, Ethnocultural diversity, Schools, Intercultural training, Ethnic identity
Localisation des aires cérébrales impliquées dans le rappel de mots : validation d’un protocole d’imagerie optique

Until recently, patients with epilepsy refractory to drug treatments were intended to an uncertain future. Surgery as an alternative treatment offers hope to, one day, lead a normal life. In order to determine if a patient may benefit from a surgical intervention, a complete evaluation is essential. With the advancements in brain imagery techniques over the last few decades, preoperative evaluation methods have seen important progress. Among these techniques, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), also known as optical imaging, presents numerous advantages (cost, participant mobility, spatial and temporal resolution, etc.). The purpose of this study is to develop a preoperative evaluation protocol for memory assessment. During a NIRS recording, a verbal memory task including encoding, immediate and delayed free-recall of a list of words was administered to ten healthy adults. The results obtained revealed bilateral activation of anterior and dorsolateral prefrontal areas as well as anterior and median temporal areas. Prefrontal and anterior temporal areas seemed to be regulated by different memory processes and the recall location in time. The first time that a list is recalled, increased hemodynamic activity is observed in comparison to subsequent recalls, with a greater activity in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere. This study constitutes the first step in the validation process of the protocol for clinical needs among epileptic patients.

Keyphrases: Rappel verbal, Lobe temporal, Optical imaging, Near infrared spectroscopy, Memory, Verbal recall, Prefrontal cortex, Temporal lobe, Encoding, Retrieval, NIRS
Études de type structure fonction des mutations causant l’ataxie épisodique de type I sur les canaux potassiques dépendants du voltage

The genetic episodic ataxias form a group of disorders with heterogeneous phenotype and genotype, but share the common feature of intermittent cerebellar dysfunction. Episodic ataxia (EA) types 1 and 2 are most widely recognised amongst the autosomal dominant episodic ataxias and are caused by dysfunction of neuronal voltage-gated ion channels. The present study focuses on mutations causing EA-1 located in the voltage sensor domains (VSDs) of Kv1.1. A member of the Shaker channel family. Here, we have characterised the electrophysiological properties of six different mutations at the position of F244 and we also reported the partiality effects of these following mutations T284A/M, R297K/Q/A/H, I320T, L375F, L399I S412C/I on Shaker sequence using the cut open voltage clamp technique (COVC). We have shown that mutations of F244 in the S1 of the Shaker Kv channel positively shift the voltage dependence of the VSD movement and alter functional coupling between VSD and pore domain. The mutations causing immobilization of the VSD movement during activation and deactivation and responsible for creating a leak current during activation, are removed by the application of 4-AP (4-aminopyridine) or by reinsertion of N-type inactivation but not by TEA (tetraethylamonium). Insights into the molecular mechanisms responsible for the stabilization of the intermediate state have been investigated by separately neutralizing the first three charges (R1Q, R2Q and R3Q) in the S4 segment. The result suggests an interaction between R2 and F244 mutants. It was established that a second co-evolved interface exists between S1 and the pore helix near the extracellular surface and it acts as a second anchor point. It is also responsible for generation of leak currents. The results suggest a dysfunction of the VSD in which the affected nerve cells cannot efficiently repolarize following an action potential because of altered delayed rectifier function

Keyphrases: Voltage-gated potassium channel, Gating, Intermediate state trapping, Voltage sensor domains, Leak current
Une silhouette naturelle est-elle fréquemment classée dans plusieurs catégories de base?

Ambiguous silhouettes such as the duck/rabbit (Jastrow, 1899) have been studied by several approaches. However, the figures taken as examples in the vast majority of studies are generally the same. This redundancy of the ambiguous images used in litterature implies they may be quite rare. On the other hand, anecdotal evidence suggests that they might be relatively frequent. This is what this experiment is trying to establish. We used three-dimensional models of animals from a random point of view to extract silhouettes whose perimetric complexity was subsequently modified by smoothing. Thirteen subjects were asked to indicate what they saw in the image. We show that silhouettes are classified on average with 1.9079 based categories. We also established that a decrease in the perimetric complexity initially makes a more ambiguous figure but that this effect eventually reaches a peak (at a perimetric complexity of approximately 6 times that of a disk) after which ambiguity drops.

Keyphrases: Images ambiguës, Silhouettes, Illusion, Ambiguous images, Perimetric complexity, Illusions, Ambiguity