La question régionale au Québec contemporain

Cet article établit un parallèle entre les politiques gouvernementales en matière régionale et les revendications régionalistes soulevées par les mouvements sociaux au Québec. L'article est structuré de la façon suivante. D'abord, les auteurs analysent les réformes apportées par le gouvernement aux politiques de développement régional, en focalisant sur le concept d'« État accompagnateur », utilisé comme base de la nouvelle approche gouvernementale. Ensuite, ils analysent les principales caractéristiques des régions périphériques et concluent que la spécialisation inspirée du principe des avantages comparatifs a été négative. Troisièmement, ils examinent le cas des mouvements sociaux régionalistes de l'Est du Québec, montrant que la revendication régionaliste conçoit le développement des régions comme global et polyvalent. Et, pour terminer, ils replacent la question régionale dans le contexte d'un choix fondamental de société et dans une perspective géopolitique qui concerne aussi bien les régions que l'État, en se servant de la théorie de la régulation.This paper draws a parallel between regional policies and claims of social movements in Québec. It is structured as follows: first, it discusses the new official discourse about « partner state » (Etat accompagnateur), which supports the current restructuring of the regional administration. Secondly, it analyses the main trends of the regional situation in order to lay down negative consequences of spatial specialization. Thirdly, it examines a regional social movement, as one case of an emerging community discourse which links economic and social development. And, finally, it replaces the regional question into the context of a fundamental social choice and into a geopolitical perspective which concerns both regions and the state. The theoretical background of this paper is drawn from regulation theory

Physical Properties of Young Stellar Populations in 24 Starburst Galaxies Observed with FUSE

We presents the main physical properties of very young stellar populations seen with FUSE in 24 individual starbursts. These characteristics have been obtained using the evolutionary spectral synthesis technique in the far-ultraviolet range with the LavalSB code. For each starburst, quantitative values for age, metallicity, initial mass function slope, stellar mass, and internal extinction have been obtained and discussed in details. Limits of the code have been tested. One main conclusion is that most starbursts (and probably all of them) cannot be represented by any continuous star formation burst in the far-ultraviolet. Also, quantitative values of various optical diagnostics related to these stellar populations have been predicted. Underlying stellar populations, dominated by B-type stars, have been detected in NGC 1140, NGC 4449, and possibly NGC 3991. We characterized the young stellar populations of less than 5 Myr in Seyfert 2 nuclei.Comment: 24 pages including figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Modulation of telomere terminal structure by telomerase components in Candida albicans

The telomerase ribonucleoprotein in Candida albicans is presumed to contain at least three Est proteins: CaEst1p, CaEst2p/TERT and CaEst3p. We constructed mutants missing each of the protein subunit of telomerase and analyzed overall telomere dynamics and single-stranded telomere overhangs over the course of many generations. The est1-ΔΔ mutant manifested abrupt telomere loss and recovery, consistent with heightened recombination. Both the est2-ΔΔ and est3-ΔΔ mutant exhibited progressive telomere loss, followed by the gradual emergence of survivors with long telomeres. In no case was telomere loss accompanied by severe growth defects, suggesting that cells with short telomeres can continue to proliferate. Furthermore, the amount of G-strand terminal overhangs was greatly increased in the est2-ΔΔ mutant, but not others. Our results suggest that in addition to their well-characterized function in telomere elongation, both CaEst1p and CaEst2p mediate some aspects of telomere protection in Candida, with the former suppressing excessive recombination, and the latter preventing excessive C-strand degradation

Cdk1-Dependent Phosphorylation of Cdc13 Coordinates Telomere Elongation during Cell-Cycle Progression

SummaryElongation of telomeres by telomerase replenishes the loss of terminal telomeric DNA repeats during each cell cycle. In budding yeast, Cdc13 plays an essential role in telomere length homeostasis, partly through its interactions with both the telomerase complex and the competing Stn1-Ten1 complex. Previous studies in yeast have shown that telomere elongation by telomerase is cell cycle dependent, but the mechanism underlying this dependence is unclear. In S. cerevisiae, a single cyclin-dependent kinase Cdk1 (Cdc28) coordinates the serial events required for the cell division cycle, but no Cdk1 substrate has been identified among telomerase and telomere-associated factors. Here we show that Cdk1-dependent phosphorylation of Cdc13 is essential for efficient recruitment of the yeast telomerase complex to telomeres by favoring the interaction of Cdc13 with Est1 rather than the competing Stn1-Ten1 complex. These results provide a direct mechanistic link between coordination of telomere elongation and cell-cycle progression in vivo

The clinical features of the piriformis syndrome: a systematic review

Piriformis syndrome, sciatica caused by compression of the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle, has been described for over 70 years; yet, it remains controversial. The literature consists mainly of case series and narrative reviews. The objectives of the study were: first, to make the best use of existing evidence to estimate the frequencies of clinical features in patients reported to have PS; second, to identify future research questions. A systematic review was conducted of any study type that reported extractable data relevant to diagnosis. The search included all studies up to 1 March 2008 in four databases: AMED, CINAHL, Embase and Medline. Screening, data extraction and analysis were all performed independently by two reviewers. A total of 55 studies were included: 51 individual and 3 aggregated data studies, and 1 combined study. The most common features found were: buttock pain, external tenderness over the greater sciatic notch, aggravation of the pain through sitting and augmentation of the pain with manoeuvres that increase piriformis muscle tension. Future research could start with comparing the frequencies of these features in sciatica patients with and without disc herniation or spinal stenosis

The role of anthropogenic vs. natural in-stream structures in determining connectivity and genetic diversity in an endangered freshwater fish, Macquarie perch (Macquaria australasica)

Habitat fragmentation is one of the leading causes of population declines, threatening ecosystems worldwide. Freshwater taxa may be particularly sensitive to habitat loss as connectivity between suitable patches of habitat is restricted not only by the natural stream network but also by anthropogenic factors. Using a landscape genetics approach, we assessed the impact of habitat availability on population genetic diversity and connectivity of an endangered Australian freshwater fish Macquarie perch, Macquaria australasica (Percichthyidae). The relative contribution of anthropogenic versus natural in-stream habitat structures in shaping genetic structure and diversity in M. australasica was quite striking. Genetic diversity was significantly higher in locations with a higher river slope, a correlate of the species preferred habitat – riffles. On the other hand, barriers degrade preferred habitat and impede dispersal, contributing to the degree of genetic differentiation among populations. Our results highlight the importance of landscape genetics to understanding the environmental factors affecting freshwater fish populations and the potential practical application of this approach to conservation management of other freshwater organisms

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Single nucleotide polymorphisms unravel hierarchical divergence and signatures of selection among Alaskan sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) populations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Disentangling the roles of geography and ecology driving population divergence and distinguishing adaptive from neutral evolution at the molecular level have been common goals among evolutionary and conservation biologists. Using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) multilocus genotypes for 31 sockeye salmon (<it>Oncorhynchus nerka</it>) populations from the Kvichak River, Alaska, we assessed the relative roles of geography (discrete boundaries or continuous distance) and ecology (spawning habitat and timing) driving genetic divergence in this species at varying spatial scales within the drainage. We also evaluated two outlier detection methods to characterize candidate SNPs responding to environmental selection, emphasizing which mechanism(s) may maintain the genetic variation of outlier loci.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For the entire drainage, Mantel tests suggested a greater role of geographic distance on population divergence than differences in spawn timing when each variable was correlated with pairwise genetic distances. Clustering and hierarchical analyses of molecular variance indicated that the largest genetic differentiation occurred between populations from distinct lakes or subdrainages. Within one population-rich lake, however, Mantel tests suggested a greater role of spawn timing than geographic distance on population divergence when each variable was correlated with pairwise genetic distances. Variable spawn timing among populations was linked to specific spawning habitats as revealed by principal coordinate analyses. We additionally identified two outlier SNPs located in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II that appeared robust to violations of demographic assumptions from an initial pool of eight candidates for selection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>First, our results suggest that geography and ecology have influenced genetic divergence between Alaskan sockeye salmon populations in a hierarchical manner depending on the spatial scale. Second, we found consistent evidence for diversifying selection in two loci located in the MHC class II by means of outlier detection methods; yet, alternative scenarios for the evolution of these loci were also evaluated. Both conclusions argue that historical contingency and contemporary adaptation have likely driven differentiation between Kvichak River sockeye salmon populations, as revealed by a suite of SNPs. Our findings highlight the need for conservation of complex population structure, because it provides resilience in the face of environmental change, both natural and anthropogenic.</p

Insights into the Complex Associations Between MHC Class II DRB Polymorphism and Multiple Gastrointestinal Parasite Infestations in the Striped Mouse

Differences in host susceptibility to different parasite types are largely based on the degree of matching between immune genes and parasite antigens. Specifically the variable genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a major role in the defence of parasites. However, underlying genetic mechanisms in wild populations are still not well understood because there is a lack of studies which deal with multiple parasite infections and their competition within. To gain insights into these complex associations, we implemented the full record of gastrointestinal nematodes from 439 genotyped individuals of the striped mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio. We used two different multivariate approaches to test for associations between MHC class II DRB genotype and multiple nematodes with regard to the main pathogen-driven selection hypotheses maintaining MHC diversity and parasite species-specific co-evolutionary effects. The former includes investigations of a ‘heterozygote advantage’, or its specific form a ‘divergent-allele advantage’ caused by highly dissimilar alleles as well as possible effects of specific MHC-alleles selected by a ‘rare allele advantage’ ( = negative ‘frequency-dependent selection’). A combination of generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) and co-inertia (COIA) analyses made it possible to consider multiple parasite species despite the risk of type I errors on the population and on the individual level. We could not find any evidence for a ‘heterozygote’ advantage but support for ‘divergent-allele’ advantage and infection intensity. In addition, both approaches demonstrated high concordance of positive as well as negative associations between specific MHC alleles and certain parasite species. Furthermore, certain MHC alleles were associated with more than one parasite species, suggesting a many-to-many gene-parasite co-evolution. The most frequent allele Rhpu-DRB*38 revealed a pleiotropic effect, involving three nematode species. Our study demonstrates the co-existence of specialist and generalist MHC alleles in terms of parasite detection which may be an important feature in the maintenance of MHC polymorphism

Low back pain and widespread pain predict sickness absence among industrial workers

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in the aluminium industry is high, and there is a considerable work-related fraction. More knowledge about the predictors of sickness absence from MSD in this industry will be valuable in determining strategies for prevention. The aim of this study was to analyse the relative impact of body parts, psychosocial and individual factors as predictors for short- and long-term sickness absence from MSD among industrial workers. METHODS: A follow-up study was conducted among all the workers at eight aluminium plants in Norway. A questionnaire was completed by 5654 workers at baseline in 1998. A total of 3320 of these participated in the follow-up study in 2000. Cox regression analysis was applied to investigate the relative impact of MSD in various parts of the body and of psychosocial and individual factors reported in 1998 on short-term and long-term sickness absence from MSD reported in 2000. RESULTS: MSD accounted for 45% of all working days lost the year prior to follow-up in 2000. Blue-collar workers had significantly higher risk than white-collar workers for both short- and long-term sickness absence from MSD (long-term sickness absence: RR = 3.04, 95% CI 2.08–4.45). Widespread and low back pain in 1998 significantly predicted both short- and long-term sickness absence in 2000. In addition, shoulder pain predicted long-term sickness absence. Low social support predicted short-term sickness absence (RR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.11–1.49). CONCLUSIONS: Reducing sickness absence from MSD among industrial workers requires focusing on the working conditions of blue-collar workers and risk factors for low back pain and widespread pain. Increasing social support in the work environment may have effects in reducing short-term sickness absence from MSD