Quebec Seeks Solutions: An Economic Development Agency's Role in Local Open Innovation

This article offers an economic-development perspective on a new method for local companies to find innovative solutions to their most challenging business problems: local open innovation. Quebec International, the economic development agency for the Quebec City area, contributed to the development of the Seeking Solutions approach to local open innovation, which included the hosting of problem-solving conferences with local research centres, economic development actors, and companies. Looking back on our experiences and outcomes since 2010, this article shows how the development and introduction of this new approach to local open innovation has changed the rules of the game in the region

Participation sociale de jeunes adultes ayant un trouble de l’acquisition de la coordination (TAC) et exploration de leurs besoins en termes de ressources d’information

Problématique : Le trouble de l'acquisition de la coordination (TAC) affecte la réalisation de nombreuses habitudes de vie, autant chez l'enfant que chez l’adulte. Toutefois, peu d’études ont décrit les défis vécus par les jeunes adultes et aucune n’a examiné leurs besoins en termes de ressources d’information. Cette étude exploratoire vise à identifier les principaux défis liés à la participation sociale des jeunes adultes ayant un TAC ainsi que les ressources d’information pouvant les aider. Méthodologie : Des jeunes adultes, âgés entre 18 et 25 ans et ayant un TAC, ainsi que des parents de jeunes adultes correspondant à ces critères ont été recrutés. Un questionnaire inspiré de la Mesure des habitudes de vie (MHAVIE) abrégée a été élaboré en collaboration avec l'Association Québécoise pour les Enfants Dyspraxiques (AQED). Les données obtenues ont été interprétées à l'aide de médianes et d’étendues, et d’une analyse thématique. Résultat : Trois jeunes adultes et trois parents ont participé à cette étude. Le travail est ressorti dans les habitudes de vie les plus atteintes, tant chez les jeunes adultes que chez les parents. Les habitudes de vie les moins satisfaisantes étaient les déplacements selon les jeunes adultes, et le travail et l’habitation selon les parents. Concernant les ressources d'information, les conséquences possibles du TAC sur la santé mentale et les stratégies pour faciliter l'intégration aux études et au travail ont été priorisées par les jeunes adultes et les parents. Le site Internet était la modalité préférée par les jeunes adultes, tandis que les parents privilégiaient le groupe de discussion. Discussion : Malgré le petit échantillon, cette étude a permis d’explorer, pour une première fois au Québec, la participation sociale de jeunes adultes ayant un TAC et leurs besoins en termes de ressources d’information. Ces connaissances permettront de développer une ressource d’information mieux adaptée à cette étape de vie, en collaboration avec l’AQED.Abstract : Problematic: Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects the realization of many life habits, both with children and adults. However, few studies have described the challenges faced by young adults and none have examined their needs in terms of information resources. The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify the main challenges related to the social participation of young adults with a DCD as well as the information resources that can help them. Methodology: Young adults, aged between 18 and 25 with a DCD, and parents of young adults meeting these criteria were recruited. A survey inspired by the Assessment of Life Habits (LIFE-H) was developed in collaboration with the Quebec Association for Dyspraxic Children. The data obtained was interpreted using medians and scopes, and a thematic analysis. Results: Three young adults and three parents participated in this study. Work came up in the most affected life habits of both young adults and parents. The least satisfactory life habits were travel by young adults, and work and housing by parents. Concerning information resources, young adults and parents prioritize the potential consequences of DCD on mental health and strategies to facilitate integration into school and work. The website was the preferred modality for young adults, while the parents favoured the focus group. Discussion: Despite the small sample, this study explored, for the first time in Quebec, the social participation of young adults with a DCD and their needs in terms of information resources. In collaboration with the Quebec Association for Dyspraxic Children, this knowledge will allow to develop an information resource better adapted to this stage of life

Expression of 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (Ogg1) in mouse retina

International audienc

Analysis of ligation and DNA binding by Escherichia coli DNA ligase (LigA).

NAD+-dependent DNA ligases are essential enzymes in bacteria, with the most widely studied of this class of enzymes being LigA from Escherichia coli. NAD+-dependent DNA ligases comprise several discrete structural domains, including a BRCT domain at the C-terminus that is highly-conserved in this group of proteins. The over-expression and purification of various fragments of E. coli LigA allowed the investigation of the different domains in DNA-binding and ligation by this enzyme. Compared to the full-length protein, the deletion of the BRCT domain from LigA reduced in vitro ligation activity by 3-fold and also reduced DNA binding. Using an E. coli strain harbouring a temperature-sensitive mutation of ligA, the over-expression of protein with its BRCT domain deleted enabled growth at the non-permissive temperature. In gel-mobility shift experiments, the isolated BRCT domain bound DNA in a stable manner and to a wider range of DNA molecules compared to full LigA. Thus, the BRCT domain of E. coli LigA can bind DNA, but it is not essential for DNA nick-joining activity in vitro or in vivo

Discerning differences: Ion beam analysis of ancient faience from Naukratis and Rhodes

Faience technology was known in Egypt since the Predynastic Period and practiced for a period also in Bronze Age Greece, but, having been lost, was reintroduced to the Greek world only in the first half of the first millennium BC. The Greek island of Rhodes and the Greek-Egyptian trade harbour of Naukratis in the Nile Delta are suspected to be key centres of early Greek-style faience production, exporting amulets and vessels across the Mediterranean region. Yet the nature and scale of their production and their role in technology transfer, vis-à-vis Egyptian and Levantine/Phoenician production, remain little understood. The main aim of this study was to discover whether it is possible to define chemical characteristics for the faience produced and found at Naukratis, and to use this data to differentiate between artefacts produced here and elsewhere.A programme of ion beam (PIXE and PIGE) analysis was conducted under the CHARISMA transnational access scheme, known to be a suitable tool for studying ancient vitreous artefacts as it provides a non-destructive means of obtaining precise and accurate quantitative compositional data. Both the internal body of damaged objects as well as the outer glaze layer were analysed, of which only the latter are discussed here. The results of this study indicate that the faience found at both Naukratis and on Rhodes is compositionally similar. However, some small differences were found in the raw materials used in its production which may help us to better characterise the production of different faience manufacturing centres.La technique de la faïence, connue en Égypte depuis la période prédynastique et utilisée également pendant un certain temps en Grèce à l’âge du Bronze, s’est perdue ensuite. Elle ne fut réintroduite dans le monde grec que vers la première moitié du Ier millénaire av. J.-C. On pense que l’île grecque de Rhodes et le port marchand gréco-égyptien de Naucratis dans le delta du Nil furent de grands foyers de production de faïences, exportant des amulettes et des vases dans tout le pourtour méditerranéen. Cependant, la nature et l’ampleur de leur production restent mal connues, de même que leur rôle dans la diffusion des techniques de fabrication en Égypte et au Levant/Phénicie. Cette recherche avait pour principal objectif de savoir s’il était possible de déterminer les caractéristiques chimiques des faïences fabriquées et découvertes à Naucratis, afin de mieux discerner les différences entre les objets produits sur ce site et ailleurs.Nous avons pu conduire des analyses par faisceaux d’ions (méthodes PIXE et PIGE) dans le cadre du programme européen CHARISMA d’accès transnational, offrant un outil adapté à l’étude des objets antiques vitrifiés, car c’est un moyen non-destructeur de recueillir des données quantitatives précises et fiables sur la composition des matériaux. Nous avons analysé aussi bien la pâte, à l’intérieur d’objets abîmés, que la glaçure extérieure, et c’est cette dernière qui est décrite ici. Les résultats de notre étude font apparaître une composition similaire pour les faïences découvertes à Naucratis et à Rhodes. Quelques petites variations découvertes dans les matières premières employées pourraient faciliter la caractérisation des faïences fabriquées dans les différents foyers de production

Archival of the water stable isotope signal in East Antarctic ice cores

The oldest ice core records are obtained from the East Antarctic plateau. Water stable isotopes records are key for reconstructions of past climatic conditions both over the ice sheet and at the evaporation source. The accuracy of such climate reconstructions crucially depends on the knowledge of all the processes affecting the water vapour, precipitation and snow isotopic composition. Atmospheric fractionation processes are well understood and can be integrated in Rayleigh distillation and complex isotope enabled climate models. However, a comprehensive quantitative understanding of processes potentially altering the snow isotopic composition after the deposition is still missing, especially for exchanges between vapour and snow. In low accumulation sites such as found on the East Antarctic Plateau, these poorly constrained processes are especially likely to play a significant role. This limits the interpretation of isotopic composition from ice core records, specifically at short time scales. Here, we combine observations of isotopic composition in the vapour, the precipitation, the surface snow and the buried snow from various sites of the East Antarctic Plateau. At the seasonal scale, we highlight a significant impact of metamorphism on surface snow isotopic signal compared to the initial precipitation isotopic signal. In particular, in summer, exchanges of water molecules between vapour and snow are driven by the sublimation/condensation cycles at the diurnal scale. Using highly resolved isotopic composition profiles from pits in five East Antarctic sites, we identify a common 20 cm cycle which cannot be attributed to the seasonal variability of precipitation. Altogether, the smaller range of isotopic compositions observed in the buried and in the surface snow compared to the precipitation, and also the reduced slope between surface snow isotopic composition and temperature compared to precipitation, constitute evidences of post-deposition processes affecting the variability of the isotopic composition in the snow pack. To reproduce these processes in snow-models is crucial to understand the link between snow isotopic composition and climatic conditions and to improve the interpretation of isotopic composition as a paleoclimate proxy

High mannose N-glycans on red blood cells as phagocytic ligands, mediating both sickle cell anaemia and resistance to malaria

Acknowledgements We are grateful for the assistance provided by both the Microscopy and Histology Core Facility, and the Iain Fraser Cytometry Centre, at the University of Aberdeen. We thank Ann Wheeler and Matt Pearson from Edinburgh Super-Resolution Imaging Consortium for technical support with 3D SIM microscopy. We also thank Janet A. Willment and Bernard Kerscher, supervised by G.D.B., for providing the Fc fusion proteins, Jeanette A. Wagener, supervised by Neil A.R.G. Gow, for providing high purity chitin, Jan Westland for obtaining blood samples and Paul Crocker for useful discussions. Principal funding for this project was provided by Wellcome Trust grant 094847 (R.N.B, L.P.E, M.A.V). In addition, support was provided by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grants BBF0083091 (A.D. and S.M.H.) and BBK0161641 (A.D. and S.M.H.), Wellcome Trust grant 082098 (A.D.), Wellcome Trust grants 97377, 102705 (G.D.B) and funding for the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Aberdeen MR/N006364/1 (G.D.B).Non peer reviewe