The microarray manual curation tool (MMCT): A Web server for microarray probe evaluations

Quality control of probe sequences is a major concern in microarray technology. The presence of poor quality probes has a negative impact on the microarray data analysis process. The Microarray Manual Curation Tool (MMCT) is a web server application that provides computational and visual means to investigate the quality of individual probes for oligo microarrays. The MMCT quality metrics assess the free energy of hybridization and the secondary structure of duplexes formed by selected targets and probes, which are specific to various microarray platforms

Les limites et les conséquences de l'aménagement linguistique au Nouveau-Brunswick : le cas du secteur privé

Une simple comparaison entre les champs d'intervention de la Charte de la langue française du Québec et ceux de la Loi sur les langues officielles du Nouveau-Brunswick nous permet de constater la grande faille que possède l'aménagement linguistique du Nouveau-Brunswick, soit la non-intervention dans les sphères d'activité du secteur privé. Les entreprises du secteur privé ont donc tous les droits d'établir, de manière consciente ou non, des situations de domination de l'anglais sur le français, et ce, au sein même des lieux de travail, au niveau de l'affichage ainsi qu'au niveau de la langue de service. À la lumière de ce constat, qu'est-ce que pensent les travailleurs du secteur privé de la possibilité de voir le gouvernement provincial intervenir afin de corriger les situations de domination linguistique qui y existent? Est-ce que la question d'étendre l'aménagement linguistique au secteur privé est encore d'actualité au Nouveau-Brunswick? Les résultats d'une recherche de terrain dans deux lieux de travail de la ville de Moncton nous permettent de constater que l'anglais domine sur le français, même au sein des entreprises qui exigent de leurs employés une connaissance de l'anglais et du français. Les frustrations exprimées par les employés interviewés viennent confirmer qu'il existe bel et bien des problèmes linguistiques dans le secteur privé qui méritent une attention particulière de la part des dirigeants politiques

Les facteurs influençant le choix de fréquenter un collège privé ou public [rapport final]

Rapport final d'un projet de recherche financé par l'Association des collèges privés du Québec (ACPQ) dans le cadre du programme de recherche et d’expérimentation pédagogique (PREP) et appuyé par la Fédération des établissements d'enseignement privé (FEEP)

Étude comparative des facteurs influençant les élèves du secondaire privé à choisir un collège privé ou public pour la suite de leurs études

Rapport final d'un projet de recherche financé par l'Association des collèges privés du Québec (ACPQ) dans le cadre du programme de recherche et d’expérimentation pédagogique (PREP) et appuyé par la Fédération des établissements d'enseignement privé (FEEP).Comprend des références bibliographiques

International variability in 20 m shuttle run performance in children and youth: who are the fittest from a 50-country comparison? A systematic literature review with pooling of aggregate results

Objectives To describe and compare 20 m shuttle run test (20mSRT) performance among children and youth across 50 countries; to explore broad socioeconomic indicators that correlate with 20mSRT performance in children and youth across countries and to evaluate the utility of the 20mSRT as an international population health indicator for children and youth. Methods A systematic review was undertaken to identify papers that explicitly reported descriptive 20mSRT (with 1-min stages) data on apparently healthy 9–17 year-olds. Descriptive data were standardised to running speed (km/h) at the last completed stage. Country-specific 20mSRT performance indices were calculated as population-weighted mean z-scores relative to all children of the same age and sex from all countries. Countries were categorised into developed and developing groups based on the Human Development Index, and a correlational analysis was performed to describe the association between country-specific performance indices and broad socioeconomic indicators using Spearman\u27s rank correlation coefficient. Results Performance indices were calculated for 50 countries using collated data on 1 142 026 children and youth aged 9–17 years. The best performing countries were from Africa and Central-Northern Europe. Countries from South America were consistently among the worst performing countries. Country-specific income inequality (Gini index) was a strong negative correlate of the performance index across all 50 countries. Conclusions The pattern of variability in the performance index broadly supports the theory of a physical activity transition and income inequality as the strongest structural determinant of health in children and youth. This simple and cost-effective assessment would be a powerful tool for international population health surveillance

The 20-m shuttle run: Assessment and interpretation of data in relation to youth aerobic fitness and health

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a good summative measure of the body’s ability to perform continuous, rhythmic, dynamic, large-muscle group physical activity, and exercise. In children, CRF is meaningfully associated with health, independent of physical activity levels, and it is an important determinant of sports and athletic performance. Although gas-analyzed peak oxygen uptake is the criterion physiological measure of children’s CRF, it is not practical for population-based testing. Field testing offers a simple, cheap, practical alternative to gas analysis. The 20-m shuttle run test (20mSRT)—a progressive aerobic exercise test involving continuous running between 2 lines 20 m apart in time to audio signals—is probably the most widely used field test of CRF. This review aims to clarify the international utility of the 20mSRT by synthesizing the evidence describing measurement variability, validity, reliability, feasibility, and the interpretation of results, as well as to provide future directions for international surveillance. The authors show that the 20mSRT is an acceptable, feasible, and scalable measure of CRF and functional/exercise capacity, and that it has moderate criterion validity and high to very high reliability. The assessment is pragmatic, easily interpreted, and results are transferable to meaningful and understandable situations. The authors recommend that CRF, assessed by the 20mSRT, be considered as an international population health surveillance measure to provide additional insight into pediatric population health

Making a case for cardiorespiratory fitness surveillance among children and youth

We review the evidence that supports cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) as an important indicator of current and future health among school-aged children and youth, independent of physical activity levels. We discuss the merit of CRF measurement for population health surveillance and propose the development of CRF guidelines to help support regional, national, and international surveillance efforts

International normative 20 m shuttle run values from 1 142 026 children and youth representing 50 countries

Objective To develop sex-specific and age-specific international norms for the 20 m shuttle run test (20mSRT) in children and youth (aged 9–17 years), and to estimate the prevalence meeting the FITNESSGRAM criterion-referenced standards for healthy cardiorespiratory endurance (CRE). Methods A systematic review was undertaken to identify papers explicitly reporting descriptive 20mSRT (with 1 min stages) data on children and youth since 1981. Data were included on apparently healthy (free from known disease/injury) 9–17 years old. Following standardisation to a common metric and for protocol differences, pseudo data were generated using Monte Carlo simulation, with population-weighted sex-specific and age-specific normative centiles generated using the Lambda Mu and Sigma (LMS) method. Sex-related and age-related differences were expressed as per cent and standardised differences in means. The prevalence with healthy CRE was estimated using the sex-specific and age-specific FITNESSGRAM criterion-referenced standards for . Results Norms were displayed as tabulated centiles and as smoothed centile curves for the 20mSRT using 4 common metrics (speed at the last completed stage, completed stages/minutes, laps and relative ). The final data set included 1 142 026 children and youth from 50 countries, extracted from 177 studies. Boys consistently outperformed girls at each age group (mean difference±95% CI: 0.86±0.28 km/h or 0.79±0.20 standardised units), with the magnitude of age-related increase larger for boys than for girls. A higher proportion of boys (mean±95% CI: 67±14%) had healthy CRE than girls (mean±95% CI: 54±17%), with the prevalence of healthy CRE decreasing systematically with age. Conclusions This study provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date set of international sex-specific and age-specific 20mSRT norms for children and youth, which have utility for health and fitness screening, profiling, monitoring and surveillance