Crafting democracy

Est-il possible pour les pays en développement d’améliorer la qualité de leur démocratie via la réforme de leurs institutions politiques? Plusieurs nouvelles démocraties ont emprunté cette approche, adoptant régulièrement des réformes électorales dans le but d’encourager le développement de comportements politiques jugés normativement plus désirables dans un cadre démocratique. Cette tactique a notamment été très populaire en Amérique latine depuis que la région a transité vers la démocratie au tournant des années 1980. Les résultats de plusieurs études supportent l’affirmation selon laquelle les institutions électorales contribuent à définir le comportement des élites politiques. Nous en savons toutefois beaucoup moins sur la manière dont les électeurs réagissent aux réformes institutionnelles. Le cas colombien est particulièrement instructif à cet égard puisqu’une réforme électorale adoptée en 2003 a fortement diminué la personnalisation politique, de manière à recentrer les élections nationales sur les partis et leurs programmes. De manière plus précise, la réforme a contribué à abaisser significativement le nombre de partis et augmenter la discipline au sein de ceux-ci. Ces changements devraient avoir rendu plus facile pour les électeurs d’apprendre à connaître le programme des partis et de voter en conséquence, rendant incidemment plus probable l’expression d’un vote idéologique. En utilisant des données d’enquêtes d’opinion publique, nous avons élaboré une mesure idéologique bidimensionnelle afin de tester nos attentes théoriques. Les principaux partis colombiens ayant participé aux élections nationales de 1998 et 2006 ont été positionnés sur cette échelle idéologique en s’appuyant sur les réponses offertes par leurs élus à des questions traitant de préférences et d’attitudes politiques. Les répondants colombiens aux vagues 1998 et 2007 du latinobaromètre ont ensuite été positionnés à leur tour sur cette même échelle afin de comparer leur positionnement idéologique à celui des partis parmi lesquels ils pouvaient choisir dans le cadre de ces deux élections. À l’aide d’un modèle logit conditionnel, nous avons estimé la fiabilité de la distance idéologique entre les électeurs et chaque parti en tant que prédicteur du vote. Les résultats offrent un support modéré à nos attentes théoriques, suggérant que la distance idéologique entre un électeur et un parti prédit légèrement mieux le vote après la réforme. Nos résultats sont encourageants pour les nouvelles démocraties puisqu’ils suggèrent qu’il est effectivement possible pour celles-ci d’approfondir la qualité de leur démocratie en modifiant la structure d’incitatifs à laquelle sont confrontés les électeurs et les élites politiques.Can countries of the developing world improve the quality of their democracy through institutional changes? Many new democracies have taken such route, with electoral system reforms frequently adopted in the hope of fostering normatively desirable political behaviors. The tactic has been very common among Latin American countries since the region transited to democracy at the turn of the 1980s. A significant body of evidence has been gathered to support the argument that elite behavior is impacted by the shape of electoral institutions. Much less is known, though, about the reaction of voters to electoral reforms. The Colombian case is highly instructive in that regard, as an electoral reform adopted in 2003 substantially diminished political personalization to make parties and their programs more significant determinants of national elections. More specifically, the reform made parties much less numerous and fostered greater party discipline within them. Such changes should make easier for voters to know their programs and vote accordingly, thus making more likely the expression of an ideological vote. Using public opinion survey data, we built a bi-dimensional ideological measure to asses our expectation. All major Colombian parties competing in the 1998 and the 2006 national elections were positioned on our ideological scale using the answers given by their deputies to questions about political attitudes and preferences. Colombian respondents to the 1998 and 2007 latinobarometers were also positioned on the scale to compare their ideological preferences to that of the parties they could choose from during those two elections. Using a conditional logit model, we estimated the reliability of ideological distance between voters and each party as a predictor of vote choice. We find qualified evidence supporting our theoretical expectations positing that ideological voting should have become more likely in Colombia after the implementation of the 2003 electoral reform. Our results are encouraging for new democracies as they suggest that it might very well be possible for them to deepen the quality of their democracy by reshaping the incentives to which are faced both voters and elites during elections

Effect of a temperature increase in the non-noxious range on proton-evoked ASIC and TRPV1 activity

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are neuronal H+-gated cation channels, and the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 channel (TRPV1) is a multimodal cation channel activated by low pH, noxious heat, capsaicin, and voltage. ASICs and TRPV1 are present in sensory neurons. It has been shown that raising the temperature increases TRPV1 and decreases ASIC H+-gated current amplitudes. To understand the underlying mechanisms, we have analyzed ASIC and TRPV1 function in a recombinant expression system and in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons at room and physiological temperature. We show that temperature in the range studied does not affect the pH dependence of ASIC and TRPV1 activation. A temperature increase induces, however, a small alkaline shift of the pH dependence of steady-state inactivation of ASIC1a, ASIC1b, and ASIC2a. The decrease in ASIC peak current amplitudes at higher temperatures is likely in part due to the observed accelerated open channel inactivation kinetics and for some ASIC types to the changed pH dependence of steady-state inactivation. The increase in H+-activated TRPV1 current at the higher temperature is at least in part due to a hyperpolarizing shift in its voltage dependence. The contribution of TRPV1 relative to ASICs to H+-gated currents in DRG neurons increases with higher temperature and acidity. Still, ASICs remain the principal pH sensors of DRG neurons at 35°C in the pH range ≥

Effect of a Temperature Increase in the Non-Noxious Range on Proton-Evoked ASIC and TRPV1 Activity

Anais do II Seminário Seminário Estadual PIBID do Paraná: tecendo saberes / organizado por Dulcyene Maria Ribeiro e Catarina Costa Fernandes — Foz do Iguaçu: Unioeste; Unila, 2014Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar de que forma foi elaborada e aplicada uma sequência didática, produzida por alunos bolsistas do PIBID LI da UENP, Campus de Cornélio Procópio, que objetiva o aprimoramento da oralidade da língua inglesa. Trazemos como referencial teórico as Diretrizes Curriculares da Educação do Paraná (DCE), bem como autores que foram trabalhados e discutidos nos encontros semanais no programa PIBID e, que embasaram a construção das sequências didáticas, tais como Dolz e Schneuwly (2004), Cristovão (2001) e Petreche (2009

Étude du transport ionique membranaire par la mesure de concentration dans le microenvironnement externe de la membrane : mise au point de la technique du "piège ionique"

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Transitions - Note 5

Note complète ; Résumé ; Capsule 5 : L'influence des aspirations scolaires sur l'accès aux études postsecondaires

Derivation via Hamilton's principle of a new shallow-water model using a color function for the macroscopic description of partial wetting phenomena

This paper presents a new shallow-water type model suitable for the simulation of partially wetting liquid films without the need for very fine resolution of the contact line phenomena, which is particularly suitable for industrial applications. This model is based on the introduction of a color function, propagated at the averaged velocity of the bulk flow, and equal to one where there is a liquid film and zero in the dry zone, which implies a non zero gradient only at the interface. This approach has the advantage of easily locating the interface, allowing to model macroscopically the forces acting at the contact line, which is essential for the simulation of partial wetting phenomena. The formal derivation of this model is based on the principle of least action known as Hamilton's principle. Here this principle is applied in a full Eulerian form to derive the complete system of equations with the color function. This method proves to be particularly suitable for this type of development and as an illustration it is also applied to recover another model proposed by Lallement et al. [39, 73]. Finally, both models are compared from a theoretical point of view and the advantages of the new color function based model are discussed

Kinase and channel activity of TRPM6 are co-ordinated by a dimerization motif and pocket interaction

Contains fulltext : 138516.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Mutations in the gene that encodes the atypical channel-kinase TRPM6 (transient receptor potential melastatin 6) cause HSH (hypomagnesaemia with secondary hypocalcaemia), a disorder characterized by defective intestinal Mg2+ transport and impaired renal Mg2+ reabsorption. TRPM6, together with its homologue TRPM7, are unique proteins as they combine an ion channel domain with a C-terminally fused protein kinase domain. How TRPM6 channel and kinase activity are linked is unknown. Previous structural analysis revealed that TRPM7 possesses a non-catalytic dimerization motif preceding the kinase domain. This interacts with a dimerization pocket lying within the kinase domain. In the present study, we provide evidence that the dimerization motif in TRPM6 plays a critical role in regulating kinase activity as well as ion channel activity. We identify mutations within the TRPM6 dimerization motif (Leu1718 and Leu1721) or dimerization pocket (L1743A, Q1832K, A1836N, L1840A and L1919Q) that abolish dimerization and establish that these mutations inhibit protein kinase activity. We also demonstrate that kinase activity of a dimerization motif mutant can be restored by addition of a peptide encompassing the dimerization motif. Moreover, we observe that mutations that disrupt the dimerization motif and dimerization pocket interaction greatly diminish TRPM6 ion channel activity, in a manner that is independent of kinase activity. Finally, we analyse the impact on kinase activity of ten disease-causing missense mutations that lie outwith the protein kinase domain of TRPM6. This revealed that one mutation lying nearby the dimerization motif (S1754N), found previously to inhibit channel activity, abolished kinase activity. These results provide the first evidence that there is structural co-ordination between channel and kinase activity, which is mediated by the dimerization motif and pocket interaction. We discuss that modulation of this interaction could comprise a major regulatory mechanism by which TRPM6 function is controlled