Travailler fort et vendre du temps: Interdisciplinarité des effets individuels et de genre du virage productiviste de la pratique du droit au Québec

Approche interdisciplinaireLa présente recherche adopte une approche interdisciplinaire. Elle s’appuie sur deux axes fondamentaux. Le premier instaure un dialogue entre une recherche théorique de type macrosociologique et une étude empirique réalisée selon les principes de la méthodologie de la théorisation enracinée (MTE). Le second conjugue les perspectives synchronique et diachronique, afin de mieux comprendre les deux principaux concepts à l’étude : l’éthos professionnel et la productivité. Depuis son avènement dans les années 1980, le néolibéralisme a instauré une manière spécifique d’être au monde et, plus particulièrement, un rapport au temps considéré comme une ressource rare qu’il faut utiliser de la manière la plus efficiente possible. À cause de ses accointances nouvelles avec l’État de droit, ce système économique impose dorénavant à la communauté juridique des préceptes, croissance illimitée et concurrence, qui sont en opposition avec ses valeurs traditionnelles axées sur le corporatisme. Afin de nourrir la croissance, la manière de penser typique des sciences économiques et managériales de type néolibéral établit une normativité centrée sur le concept de productivité. Celui-ci peut se résumer par l’injonction paradoxale suivante : produire toujours plus avec toujours moins de ressources. Le temps est l’une d’entre elles et, sous cette pression, il s’accélère et se densifie. Or, du côté des praticien·ne·s du droit, une résistance se crée, celle de l’éthos professionnel. Celui-ci ne s’oppose pas à la croissance, à la rentabilité, ni aux gains financiers; il impose simplement qu’ils ne se réalisent jamais aux dépens de la qualité du service. L’éthos professionnel défend néanmoins une culture du temps basée sur un modèle de pratique désuet qui confond la qualité du service avec la quantité d’heures de travail. Chez les praticien·ne·s du droit, la norme de la semaine socialement et juridiquement acceptable de travail est établie à 50 heures ou plus, si nécessaire… Dans un tel contexte, l’expansion de la normativité productiviste produit le phénomène suivant : chaque heure de travail s’intensifie jusqu’à égaler une heure de production, c’est-à-dire une heure facturée. Ce processus obéit à une équation mathématique et, en l’occurrence, il ne semble pas avoir de limite; c’est pourquoi on parle d’un temps abstrait, décroché du temps concret et fini des personnes. Tous ces gains de productivité n’ont aucun impact sur la norme établie par l’éthos : ils servent donc à nourrir et renforcer les velléités de croissance du système, ce qui le rend de plus en plus malsain. La thèse a permis de montrer que ce processus abstrait ne fait pas disparaitre la part des activités humaines qu’il ne parvient pas à saisir et à comptabiliser. Les personnes subissent donc à la fois la matérialité de leurs activités et les exigences abstraites de la productivité sans limites. Chez les femmes, l’éthos professionnel vient se greffer à un autre, préexistant, soit celui de la parentalité, et forme avec lui une synergie qui accentue encore les difficultés d’aménagement du temps. Chaque jour, les praticien·ne·s sont confronté·e·s à des dilemmes et doivent faire des compromis pour arriver à fonctionner. Conséquemment, ce phénomène construit de la souffrance qui, à la longue, menace la santé physique et psychologique des individus et, paradoxalement, jusqu’à la qualité même du service juridique que l’on prétend vouloir protéger. Afin de résister autant que possible à ces pressions contradictoires, le management offre un outil qu’il prétend tout-puissant et adaptable à toutes les circonstances de la vie : la gestion du temps. Les conclusions de la thèse relativisent cette toute-puissance et remettent en question le rôle apparemment neutre et bienfaisant de ces méthodes. Défaire ce nœud ne sera donc pas chose facile. Il faudra compter sur de bons arguments, des allié·e·s et le temps. Toutefois, le concept d’éthos, tout en permettant de mieux comprendre le phénomène à l’étude, permet aussi de dégager certaines pistes d’intervention. D’abord, il montre qu’il est possible d’agir sur lui, sans pour autant menacer les règles déontologiques rigoureuses que la profession s’est fixées. Ensuite, il indique que ce sont les premières expériences au sein d’un champ donné qui sont les plus déterminantes, ce qui ouvre la porte à des actions possibles de la part des facultés de droit et de l’École du Barreau.This research takes an interdisciplinary approach. It is based on two fundamental axes. The first one establishes a dialogue between a theoretical research of macrosociological type and an empirical study carried out according to the principles of Grounded Theory. The second one combines synchronic and diachronic perspectives, in order to better understand the two main concepts under study: professional ethos and productivity. Since its advent in the 1980s, neoliberalism has established a specific way of being in the world and, more particularly, a relationship to time considered as a scarce resource that must be used in the most efficient way possible. Due to its new connections with the rule of law, this economic system now imposes precepts on the legal community, unlimited growth and competition, which are in opposition to its traditional values based on corporatism. In order to nurture growth, the way of thinking typical of neoliberal economics and management establishes a normativity centered on the concept of productivity. This can be summed up by the following paradoxical injunction: to produce always more with always less resources. Time is one of them and, under this pressure, it accelerates and becomes denser. However, on the side of legal practitioners, resistance is being created, that of the professional ethos. This is not opposed to growth, profitability or financial gain; it simply requires that they never come about at the expense of quality of service. The professional ethos nevertheless defends a culture of time based on an outdated practice model that confuses the quality of service with the quantity of work hours. Among legal practitioners, the norm for a socially and legally acceptable work week is 50 hours or more, if necessary ... In such a context, the expansion of productivist normativity produces the following phenomenon: each hour of work intensifies to equal one hour of production, that is to say one hour billed. This process obeys a mathematical equation witch, in this case, does not seem to have any limit; this is why we speak of an abstract time, detached from the concrete and finite time of people. All of these productivity gains have no impact on the standard set by the ethos, so they serve to nourish and strengthen the system’s growth aspirations, making it increasingly unhealthy. The thesis has shown that this abstract process does not eliminate the part of human activities that it fails to capture and account for. People therefore undergo both the materiality of their activities and the abstract demands of limitless productivity. In women, the professional ethos is grafted onto another, pre-existing one, that of parenthood, and forms with it a synergy which further accentuates the difficulties of planning time. Every day, practitioners are faced with dilemmas and must make compromises in order to function. Consequently, this phenomenon builds on suffering which, in the long run, threatens the physical and psychological health of individuals and, paradoxically, even the very quality of the legal service that it claims to want to protect. In order to resist these contradictory pressures as much as possible, management offers a tool that it claims to be all-powerful and adaptable to all life circumstances: time management. The conclusions of the thesis relativize this omnipotence and question the apparently neutral and beneficial role of these methods. Undoing this knot will not be easy. It will be necessary to find the right arguments, allies and time. However, the concept of ethos, while allowing a better understanding of the phenomenon under study, also makes it possible to identify certain avenues for intervention. First, it shows that it is possible to act on it, without threatening the rigorous ethical rules that the profession has set for itself. Then, he indicates that it is the first experiences within a field that are the most decisive, which opens the door to possible actions on the part of law faculties and the Quebec Bar School

Impact of the Maturation of Human Primary Bone-Forming Cells on Their Behavior in Acute or Persistent Staphylococcus aureus Infection Models

International audienc

Anosognosia in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Lack of awareness of memory difficulties characterizes prodromal Alzheimer’s disease

peer reviewe

Inhibin B and anti-Müllerian hormone as markers of gonadal function after hematopoietic cell transplantation during childhood

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is difficult to predict the reproductive capacity of children given hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) before pubertal age because the plasma concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are not informative and no spermogram can be done.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We classified the gonadal function of 38 boys and 34 girls given HCT during childhood who had reached pubertal age according to their pubertal development and FSH and LH and compared this to their plasma inhibin B and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ten (26%) boys had normal testicular function, 16 (42%) had isolated tubular failure and 12 (32%) also had Leydig cell failure. All 16 boys given melphalan had tubular failure. AMH were normal in 25 patients and decreased in 6, all of whom had increased FSH and low inhibin B.</p> <p>Seven (21%) girls had normal ovarian function, 11 (32%) had partial and 16 (47%) complete ovarian failure. 7/8 girls given busulfan had increased FSH and LH and 7/8 had low inhibin B. AMH indicated that ovarian function was impaired in all girls.</p> <p>FSH and inhibin B were negatively correlated in boys (P < 0.0001) and girls (P = 0.0006). Neither the age at HCT nor the interval between HCT and evaluation influenced gonadal function.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The concordance between FSH and inhibin B suggests that inhibin B may help in counselling at pubertal age. In boys, AMH were difficult to use as they normally decrease when testosterone increases at puberty. In girls, low AMH suggest that there is major loss of primordial follicles.</p

Biocatalytic Aldol Addition of Simple Aliphatic Nucleophiles to Hydroxyaldehydes

This ACS article is provided to You under the terms of this Standard ACS AuthorChoice/Editors' Choice usage agreement between You and the American Chemical Society ("ACS")(https://pubs.acs.org/page/policy/authorchoice_termsofuse.html)Asymmetric aldol addition of simple aldehydes and ketones to electrophiles is a cornerstone reaction for the synthesis of unusual sugars and chiral building blocks. We investigated -fructose-6-phosphate aldolase from E. coli (FSA) D6X variants as catalysts for the aldol additions of ethanal and nonfunctionalized linear and cyclic aliphatic ketones as nucleophiles to nonphosphorylated hydroxyaldehydes. Thus, addition of propanone, cyclobutanone, cyclopentanone, or ethanal to 3-hydroxypropanal or (S)- or (R)-3-hydroxybutanal catalyzed by FSA D6H and D6Q variants furnished rare deoxysugars in 8-77% isolated yields with high stereoselectivity (97:3 dr and >95% ee)

Contribution of polymeric materials to progress in xenotransplantation of microencapsulated cells - A review

Cell microencapsulation and subsequent transplantation of the microencapsulated cells require multidisciplinary approaches. Physical, chemical, biological, engineering, and medical expertise has to be combined. Several natural and synthetic polymeric materials and different technologies have been reported for the preparation of hydrogels, which are suitable to protect cells by microencapsulation. However, owing to the frequent lack of adequate characterization of the hydrogels and their components as well as incomplete description of the technology, many results of in vitro and in vivo studies appear contradictory or cannot reliably be reproduced. This review addresses the state of the art in cell microencapsulation with special focus on microencapsulated cells intended for xenotransplantation cell therapies. The choice of materials, the design and fabrication of the microspheres, as well as the conditions to be met during the cell microencapsulation process, are summarized and discussed prior to presenting research results of in vitro and in vivo studies. Overall, this review will serve to sensitize medically educated specialists for materials and technological aspects of cell microencapsulation

Synthesis strategies to extend the variety of alginate-based hybrid hydrogels for cell microencapsulation

The production of hydrogel microspheres (MS) for cell immobilization, maintaining the favorable properties of alginate gels but presenting enhanced performance in terms of in vivo durability and physical properties, is desirable to extend the therapeutic potential of cell transplantation. A novel type of hydrogel MS was produced by straightforward functionalization of sodium alginate (Na-alg) with heterotelechelic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatives equipped with either end thiol or 1,2-dithiolane moieties. Activation of the hydroxyl moieties of the alginate backbone in the form of imidazolide intermediate allowed for fast conjugation to PEG oligomers through a covalent carbamate linkage. Evaluation of the modified alginates for the preparation of MS combining fast ionic gelation ability of the alginate carboxylate groups and slow covalentcross-linking provided by the PEG-end functionalities highlighted the influence of the chemical composition of the PEG-grafting units on the physical characteristics of the MS. The mechanical properties of the MS (resistance and shape recovery) and durability of PEG-grafted alginates in physiological environment can be adjusted by varying the nature of the end functionalities and the length of the PEG chains. In vitro cell microencapsulation studies and preliminary in vivo assessment suggested the potential of these hydrogels for cell transplantation applications

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells enhance insulin secretion from human islets via N-Cadherin interaction and prolong function of transplanted encapsulated islets in mice

Background: Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) enhance viability and function of islets of Langerhans. We aimed to examine the interactions between human MSC and human islets of Langerhans that influence the function of islets. Methods: Human MSC and human islets (or pseudoislets, obtained after digestion and reaggregation of islet cells) were cocultured with or without cellular contact and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion assays were performed to assess cell function. The expression of several adhesion molecules, notably ICAM-1 and N-cadherin on islets and MSC, was investigated by qPCR. The role of N-cadherin was analyzed by adding an anti-N-cadherin antibody in islets cultured with or without MSC for 24 h followed by insulin measurements in static incubation assays. Islets and MSC were coencapsulated in new hydrogel microspheres composed of calcium alginate and covalently crosslinked polyethylene glycol. Encapsulated cells were transplanted intraperitoneally in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice and glycemia was monitored. Islet function was evaluated by the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test. Results: In vitro, free islets and pseudoislets cocultured in contact with MSC showed a significantly increased insulin secretion when compared to islets or pseudoislets cultured alone or cocultured without cell-to-cell contact with MSC (p < 0.05). The expression of ICAM-1 and N-cadherin was present on islets and MSC. Blocking N-cadherin prevented the enhanced insulin secretion by islets cultured in contact with MSC whereas it did not affect insulin secretion by islets cultured alone. Upon transplantation in diabetic mice, islets microencapsulated together with MSC showed significantly prolonged normoglycemia when compared with islets alone (median 69 and 39 days,respectively, p < 0.01). The intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test revealed an improved glycemic response in mice treated with islets microencapsulated together with MSC compared to mice transplanted with islets alone (p < 0.001). Conclusions: MSC improve survival and function of islets of Lan gerhans by cell-to-cell contact mediated by the adhesion molecule N-cadherin

In vivo exploration of synaptic projections in frontotemporal dementia.

The purpose of this exploratory research is to provide data on synaptopathy in the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Twelve patients with probable bvFTD were compared to 12 control participants and 12 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Loss of synaptic projections was assessed with ­[18F]UCBH-PET. Total distribution volume was obtained with Logan method using carotid artery derived input function. Neuroimages were analyzed with SPM12. Verbal fluency, episodic memory and awareness of cognitive impairment were equally impaired in patients groups. Compared to controls, ­[18F]UCBH uptake tended to decrease in the right anterior parahippocampal gyrus of bvFTD patients. Loss of synaptic projections was observed in the right hippocampus of AD participants, but there was no significant difference in ­[18F]UCBH brain uptake between patients groups. Anosognosia for clinical disorder was correlated with synaptic density in the caudate nucleus and the anteromedial prefrontal cortex. This study suggests that synaptopathy in bvFTD targets the temporal social brain and self-referential processes