L’implication du syndicat dans la gestion de la prestation des services municipaux : une comparaison Québec-Écosse

Pour devenir plus flexible, le secteur public a ouvert la voie à de nouveaux principes inspirés de la gestion propre aux firmes, soit la marchandisation des services (Fairbrother et Poynter, 2001). Notre recherche souhaite mieux comprendre les facteurs qui peuvent influencer l’implication du syndicat lorsque la marchandisation est introduite dans la gestion de la prestation des services municipaux. Pour se faire, nous avons choisi de comparer des cas des municipalités dans deux pays, la Ville de Québec et Edinburgh en Écosse, afin de nous aider à comprendre davantage les interactions entre les influences nationales et locales. Nous proposons que les ressources de pouvoir du syndicat local et la stratégie patronale influencent l’implication du syndicat dans la gestion de la prestation des services municipaux, peu importe le contexte national. Les résultats de la recherche nous indiquent que les ressources de pouvoir et la stratégie patronale influencent directement l’implication syndicale. Alors que les ressources de pouvoir donnent un rapport de force au syndicat face à l’employeur, la stratégie patronale peut encourager ou freiner l'implication syndicale. Nos résultats ont aussi soulevé certaines différences entre les contextes nationaux de l’Écosse et du Québec affectant l’implication syndicale: les législations de « Best Value » au Royaume-Uni et celles encadrant les conventions collectives et relations de travail au Québec. Ainsi, des recherches futures sont nécessaires pour mettre à l’épreuve les modèles nationaux couramment utilisés en relations industrielles pour contribuer à la création d’une nouvelle théorie comparative.In order to become more flexible, the public sector has opened the way to new principles inspired by the private sector: the marketisation of services (Fairbrother et Poynter, 2001). Our research aims to better understand the factors which affect the participation of trade unions when marketisation is introduced in the delivery of local government services. To do so, we have decided to compare local government case studies in two different countries, Québec City and Edinburgh in Scotland, to help us better understand the interactions between local and national influences. Our hypothesis is that local trade union power resources and the employer’s strategy will influence trade union participation in the management of local government service delivery, regardless of the national context. The main findings of our research suggest that power resources and employer stategy both directly affect local trade union involvement in the management of local government service delivery. While power resources help to bolster the trade union’s power, the employer strategy can either encourage or impare trade union participation. Our results also raised differences relating to the national contexts of the UK and Québec which affected local trade union participation : « Best Value » legislation in the UK and « Code du Travail » legislation which frame collective agreements and industrial relations in Québec. We consider that future research on the subject is necessary in order to verify the current models on national industrial relations and to develop new comparative theories

Personality profiles in youth with DBD

Abstract : This registered report is a conceptual replication of the study conducted by Wilson et al. (2019) which showed that distinct latent personality profiles in adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders differed on key functioning variables. The present study included 206 adolescents (M = 17.25; SD = 0.95) with borderline clinical or clinical scores for oppositional deviant disorder or conduct disorder. Latent profile analyses using parent- and adolescent-reported Big Five domains revealed two- and three-profile solutions, respectively. When controlling for sex, results from the manual BCH method for auxiliary variables showed that profile membership is associated with different clinically relevant outcomes, such as comorbid psychological disorders, risky sexual behavior, and attachment to parents and friends

Comparative specificity of platelet IIb3 integrin antagonists. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 296: 690–606

ABSTRACT Several platelet ␣ IIb ␤ 3 integrin antagonists have been designed as preventive agents against the formation of arterial thrombi. Although the potency of these compounds in inhibiting platelet aggregation is in the nanomolar range, their specificity on other integrins that can bind ligands through an arginine-glycineaspartic acid (RGD) motif is far from being well established. For instance, some cyclic RGD peptides can also interact with ␣ v ␤ 3 integrin. We used a novel pharmacological assay, based on SDS-stable interaction between 125 I-echistatin and RGD-dependent integrins, to evaluate the specificity of several RGD compounds on integrins present on rat cardiac fibroblasts and human skin fibroblasts. None of the RGD peptidomimetics tested (L-734,217, lamifiban, Ro 44-3888, SR 121566A, BIBU-52, XV459) could interact with either ␣ v ␤ 3 and ␣ 8 ␤ 1 on rat fibroblasts or with ␣ v ␤ 3 and ␣ v ␤ 1 on human fibroblasts. Cyclic RGD peptides showed some potency (3-80 M) on rat and human integrins with an ␣ v subunit. We also compared the potency of these compounds on platelets. All RGD compounds demonstrated IC 50 between 0.6 and 530 nM on basal human platelets. Activation of the receptor with thrombin resulted in a 2-to 60-fold increase in potency, with L-734,217 and BIBU-52 showing the largest difference. On basal and thrombin-activated rat platelets, only eptifibatide, DMP728, and XJ735 could displace 125 I-echistatin (IC 50 Ϸ 0.1-1.5 M). These results indicate that RGD peptidomimetics have a specificity limited to ␣ IIb ␤ 3 integrin, whereas cyclic RGD peptides can also interact with other RGD-dependent integrins, particularly those of the ␣ v subunit family

Prevalence of AMPD

Abstract : The Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD), introduced in Section III of the DSM-5 (APA, 2013), was proposed as a new operationalization of personality disorders (PD) aiming to overcome the several limitations of the traditional symptom-based model (Waugh et al., 2017; Zimmerman et al., 2019). In the AMPD, PD are defined by two dimensional criteria (the level of personality functioning and maladaptive personality traits), but as a hybrid model, it also allows for categorical assessment of PD (i.e. “hybrid types”) to facilitate continuity with clinical practice. The present study aimed to provide normative data for two widely used instruments assessing Criterion A (Level of Personality Functioning Scale – Self-Report; Morey, 2017) and B (Personality Inventory for DSM-5; Krueger et al., 2012) in a large populational French-Canadian sample. Regarding the categorical assessment, Gamache et al. (2022) recently tested scoring approaches for extracting the PD hybrid types from dimensional measures of the AMPD. In the present study, these approaches were used to estimate prevalence rates for these PD hybrid types in two samples. In the populational sample, results showed that prevalence rates varied from 0.2% (antisocial PD) to 3.0% (trait-specified PD), with an overall prevalence of 5.9% to 6.1% for any PD hybrid type. Prevalence was higher in men than in women in the populational sample, but the contrary was observed in the at-risk sample. Prevalence was higher in younger adults than in middle-aged and older adults

Travail de care des travailleuses de la santé en situation de pandémie de COVID-19 : quel engagement de la part des autorités gouvernementales?

La COVID-19 a pressé les gouvernements à intervenir à l’aide de données partielles sur l’efficacité des moyens. Les femmes sont particulièrement touchées car elles sont plus nombreuses à s’occuper des autres. Cette étude a pour but de comprendre l’influence des décisions politiques sur les conditions de vie et de travail des travailleuses de la santé. Une analyse des interventions gouvernementales de santé publique du Québec et des revendications des travailleuses de la santé retrouvées dans les documents journalistiques et les communiqués de presse officiels du gouvernement (13 avril au 1er juillet 2020) a été effectuée. Les résultats démontrent le manque de reconnaissance des autorités face à certains types de care, ainsi qu’une inadéquation dans les moyens de prise en charge pour prendre soin de la population. Le peu de reconnaissance des conditions de vie et de travail lors de décisions politiques engendre une répartition inéquitable des fardeaux associés à la pandémie. -- Mots-clés : COVID-19 ; equité/Justice sociale ; femmes ; gouvernance ; politiques/politique ; equity/social justice ; women ; governance

Les problèmes de comportement à l’enfance et les problèmes dépressifs : rôle médiateur du rejet social, des interactions parent-enfant et des difficultés scolaires

Les problèmes de comportement et les problèmes dépressifs surviennent fréquemment en cooccurrence à l’adolescence et entraînent leur lot de conséquences. En se basant sur le modèle de Patterson et Capaldi (1990), la présente étude a pour but de valider le rôle des variables de rejet social (rejet par les pairs, insertion sociale) et des difficultés scolaires, mais aussi des interactions parent-enfant (chaleur, coercition) en tant que médiateurs du lien entre les problèmes de comportement présents à l’enfance et le développement de problèmes dépressifs à l’aube de l’adolescence, et de vérifier si ces liens diffèrent selon le sexe. Au final, l’échantillon est composé de 675 enfants, dont 319 filles, âgés entre 6 et 9 ans initialement et recrutés parce qu’ils présentaient des problèmes de comportement ou différents facteurs de risque des problèmes de comportement. Les résultats montrent que, chez les garçons, c’est particulièrement la qualité de leur insertion sociale qui permet d’expliquer le lien entre la présence de problèmes de comportement et le développement de problèmes dépressifs ultérieurs. Chez les filles, c’est plutôt la qualité des interactions chaleureuse du parent envers elle. Sur le plan des retombées pratiques, les résultats pointent le rôle des relations parentales et de l’insertion sociale dont l’importance varie selon le sexe dans la relation entre les problèmes de comportement et la dépression. Certaines recommandations concernant les pratiques probantes en matière d’intervention auprès des enfants présentant des problèmes de comportement sont formulées.Behaviour problems and depressed mood often occur concurrently in adolescence and have various consequences. Drawing on the Patterson and Capaldi (1990) model, the present study sought to validate the role of two of its variables—social rejection (peer rejection, social insertion) and academic difficulty—and of another variable—parent-child interaction (warmth, coercion)—as mediators of the relationship between childhood behaviour problems and development of depressed mood in early adolescence. The study also sought to verify whether the role of these variables differed by gender. The final sample was composed of 675 children, including 319 girls, 6 to 9 years of age at study outset. They were recruited for presenting behaviour problems or different risk factors for behaviour problem. The results showed that, for boys, quality of social insertion in particular allowed explaining the relationship between presence of behaviour problems and later development of depressed mood. For girls, instead, it was quality of warm parent-child interaction. In terms of practical application, the results underscore the gender-specific mediating role of parent-child interaction and of social insertion in the relationship between childhood behaviour problems and depressed mood. Recommendations are made regarding evidence-based practices for intervening with children with behaviour problems

A Natural Polyphenol Exerts Antitumor Activity and Circumvents Anti–PD-1 Resistance through Effects on the Gut Microbiota

International audienceAbstract Several approaches to manipulate the gut microbiome for improving the activity of cancer immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are currently under evaluation. Here, we show that oral supplementation with the polyphenol-rich berry camu-camu (CC; Myrciaria dubia) in mice shifted gut microbial composition, which translated into antitumor activity and a stronger anti–PD-1 response. We identified castalagin, an ellagitannin, as the active compound in CC. Oral administration of castalagin enriched for bacteria associated with efficient immunotherapeutic responses (Ruminococcaceae and Alistipes) and improved the CD8+/FOXP3+CD4+ ratio within the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, castalagin induced metabolic changes, resulting in an increase in taurine-conjugated bile acids. Oral supplementation of castalagin following fecal microbiota transplantation from ICI-refractory patients into mice supported anti–PD-1 activity. Finally, we found that castalagin binds to Ruminococcus bromii and promoted an anticancer response. Altogether, our results identify castalagin as a polyphenol that acts as a prebiotic to circumvent anti–PD-1 resistance. Significance: The polyphenol castalagin isolated from a berry has an antitumor effect through direct interactions with commensal bacteria, thus reprogramming the tumor microenvironment. In addition, in preclinical ICI-resistant models, castalagin reestablishes the efficacy of anti–PD-1. Together, these results provide a strong biological rationale to test castalagin as part of a clinical trial. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 87

De Novo Pathogenic Variants in N-cadherin Cause a Syndromic Neurodevelopmental Disorder with Corpus Callosum, Axon, Cardiac, Ocular, and Genital Defects

International audienceCadherins constitute a family of transmembrane proteins that mediate calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion. The extracellular domain of cadherins consists of extracellular cadherin (EC) domains, separated by calcium binding sites. The EC interacts with other cadherin molecules in cis and in trans to mechanically hold apposing cell surfaces together. CDH2 encodes N-cadherin, whose essential roles in neural development include neuronal migration and axon pathfinding. However, CDH2 has not yet been linked to a Mendelian neurodevelopmental disorder. Here, we report de novo heterozygous pathogenic variants (seven missense, two frameshift) in CDH2 in nine individuals with a syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by global developmental delay and/or intellectual disability, variable axon pathfinding defects (corpus callosum agenesis or hypoplasia, mirror movements, Duane anomaly), and ocular, cardiac, and genital anomalies. All seven missense variants (c.1057G>A [p.Asp353Asn]; c.1789G>A [p.Asp597Asn]; c.1789G>T [p.Asp597Tyr]; c.1802A>C [p.Asn601Thr]; c.1839C>G [p.Cys613Trp]; c.1880A>G [p.Asp627Gly]; c.2027A>G [p.Tyr676Cys]) result in substitution of highly conserved residues, and six of seven cluster within EC domains 4 and 5. Four of the substitutions affect the calcium-binding site in the EC4-EC5 interdomain. We show that cells expressing these variants in the EC4-EC5 domains have a defect in cell-cell adhesion; this defect includes impaired binding in trans with N-cadherin-WT expressed on apposing cells. The two frameshift variants (c.2563_2564delCT [p.Leu855Valfs∗4]; c.2564_2567dupTGTT [p.Leu856Phefs∗5]) are predicted to lead to a truncated cytoplasmic domain. Our study demonstrates that de novo heterozygous variants in CDH2 impair the adhesive activity of N-cadherin, resulting in a multisystemic developmental disorder, that could be named ACOG syndrome (agenesis of corpus callosum, axon pathfinding, cardiac, ocular, and genital defects)