Giving meaning to the absurd

Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 6 mai 2009).Bibliogr.Description d'une séquence didactique sur le théâtre absurde conçue pour le niveau collégial selon la perspective constructiviste et proposée pour le cours québécois Littérature et imaginaire; les objectifs pédagogiques et les raisons du choix des oeuvres (Rhinocéros et La cantatrice chauve d'Eugène Ionesco, En attendant Godot de Samuel Beckett) sont également soulignés

Donner un sens à l'absurde

Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 23 avril 2009).Bibliogr

Intention des infirmières d'utiliser l'exercice physique musculaire comme moyen d'intervention pour maintenir ou améliorer l'autonomie fonctionnelle de la personne âgée en centre d'hébergement de soins de longue durée

La présente étude vise à identifier les facteurs qui expliquent la motivation des infirmières à utiliser l'exercice physique musculaire comme moyen d'intervention afin de maintenir ou améliorer l'autonomie fonctionnelle des aînés qui vivent en centre d'hébergement de soins de longue durée (CHSLD); Des variables issues de la théorie du comportement planifié (Ajzen, 1988, 1991) et de la théorie des comportements interpersonnels (Triandis, 1977, 1980) ont été utilisées aux fins de cette étude. Un questionnaire a été administré à 216 infirmières licenciées travaillant auprès de l'organisme Vigi Santé ltée. Les résultats de l'analyse de régression hiérarchique effectuée auprès de 69 répondants qui ont retourné le questionnaire indiquent que la perception de contrôle, la norme morale et l'importance des facteurs facilitant ou nuisant à l'adoption du comportement expliquent 83 % de la variance de l'intention des infirmières. Cette étude permet d'identifier des pistes de recherche pour favoriser l'utilisation de l'exercice physique musculaire en vue de favoriser la mobilité des aînés vivant en CHSLD

Requirements for the selective degradation of CD4 receptor molecules by the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Vpu protein in the endoplasmic reticulum

BACKGROUND: HIV-1 Vpu targets newly synthesized CD4 receptor for rapid degradation by a process reminiscent of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated protein degradation (ERAD). Vpu is thought to act as an adaptor protein, connecting CD4 to the ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome degradative system through an interaction with beta-TrCP, a component of the SCFbeta-TrCP E3 Ub ligase complex. RESULTS: Here, we provide direct evidence indicating that Vpu promotes trans-ubiquitination of CD4 through recruitment of SCFbeta-TrCP in human cells. To examine whether Ub conjugation occurs on the cytosolic tail of CD4, we substituted all four Ub acceptor lysine residues for arginines. Replacement of cytosolic lysine residues reduced but did not prevent Vpu-mediated CD4 degradation and ubiquitination, suggesting that Vpu-mediated CD4 degradation is not entirely dependent on the ubiquitination of cytosolic lysines and as such might also involve ubiquitination of other sites. Cell fractionation studies revealed that Vpu enhanced the levels of ubiquitinated forms of CD4 detected in association with not only the ER membrane but also the cytosol. Interestingly, significant amounts of membrane-associated ubiquitinated CD4 appeared to be fully dislocated since they could be recovered following sodium carbonate salt treatment. Finally, expression of a transdominant negative mutant of the AAA ATPase Cdc48/p97 involved in the extraction of ERAD substrates from the ER membrane inhibited Vpu-mediated CD4 degradation. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results are consistent with a model whereby HIV-1 Vpu targets CD4 for degradation by an ERAD-like process involving most likely poly-ubiquitination of the CD4 cytosolic tail by SCFbeta-TrCP prior to dislocation of receptor molecules across the ER membrane by a process that depends on the AAA ATPase Cdc48/p97.This work was performed by JB in partial fulfillment of her doctoral thesis and was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (MOP-14228) and from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ) to EAC. JB is the recipient of a studentship from the FRSQ and EAC holds the Canada Research Chair in Human Retrovirology

Postnatal prevention of childhood obesity in offspring prenatally exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus : where are we now?

Children exposed to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in utero are at high risk of developing many health problems such as obesity. There is an urgent need to find new strategies to prevent obesity development among high-risk populations such as those children. Accordingly, the aim of this review was to summarize current knowledge on the postnatal prevention of childhood obesity in offspring born from mothers with GDM. Specifically, this review addresses the impact of breastfeeding, complementary feeding practices as well as dietary intake and physical activity during childhood on obesity risk of children exposed to GDM in utero. Furthermore, breast milk composition of diabetic mothers and its potential impact on growth is discussed. According to the available literature, breastfeeding may reduce obesity risk in children exposed to GDM in utero but a longer duration seems necessary to achieve its protective effect against obesity. Detailed analysis of breast milk composition of mothers with GDM will be necessary to fully understand the relationship between breastfeeding and obesity in this specific population. This review highlights the need for more studies addressing the impact of complementary feeding practices and lifestyle habits during childhood on obesity risk of children exposed to GDM in utero

La vulnérabilité des hommes et des habitations face au risque d’inondation dans le Val nantais (1841-2003)

Le Val nantais, qui était une zone d’expansion des crues de la Loire, a été protégé par une digue au milieu du xixe siècle. Puis, durant toute la seconde moitié du xxe siècle, il a été asséché jusqu’à devenir un bassin de production maraîcher. Aujourd’hui, cet espace aménagé par et pour l’agriculture, est convoité pour l’urbanisation du fait de l’expansion de l’aire urbaine nantaise. L’accroissement récent de la vulnérabilité des biens et des personnes dans le Val nantais met en évidence les conflits d’intérêts entre les individus et la collectivité, entre le local et le national. Cet exemple pose concrètement la question de l’application des politiques nationales à l’échelle communale.The Val nantais, which is the flood plain of the Loire River, has been protected from the waters by a levee in the middle of the 19th century. Since then, it has been drained by agriculturists with the support of the local municipalities, in order to create an important vegetables production area. The Val nantais lies 20 kilometers upstream Nantes City, and since the 1970’s it is within reach of the urban extensions. Therefore human and economic vulnerability to floods have strongly increased. This situation rises the issue of national policy application at local scale

Dual input stream transformer for eye-tracking line assignment

We introduce a novel Dual Input Stream Transformer (DIST) for the challenging problem of assigning fixation points from eye-tracking data collected during passage reading to the line of text that the reader was actually focused on. This post-processing step is crucial for analysis of the reading data due to the presence of noise in the form of vertical drift. We evaluate DIST against nine classical approaches on a comprehensive suite of nine diverse datasets, and demonstrate DIST's superiority. By combining multiple instances of the DIST model in an ensemble we achieve an average accuracy of 98.5\% across all datasets. Our approach presents a significant step towards addressing the bottleneck of manual line assignment in reading research. Through extensive model analysis and ablation studies, we identify key factors that contribute to DIST's success, including the incorporation of line overlap features and the use of a second input stream. Through evaluation on a set of diverse datasets we demonstrate that DIST is robust to various experimental setups, making it a safe first choice for practitioners in the field.Comment: This work has been submitted to the IEEE Transactions on pattern analysis and machine intelligence for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessible. Code will be published after publicatio

Applicability of Neuropsychological and Psychometric Tests in Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS)

Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ATSACS) is a degenerative spinocerebellar disease with pyramidal, cerebellar, and neuropathic impairments. Recent studies highlight possible deficits in cognitive functions like language. Psychometric tests selection implies careful consideration due to upper limbs incoordination and dysarthria. The objective of this study is to document the applicability of 37 neuropsychological and 2 psychological tests in 8 individuals with ARSACS aged between 20 and 60 years. All tests were rated on 4 applicability criteria using a 3-level rating scale: A for excellent; B for acceptable; C for reconsider. Most tests posed few or no applicability limits with ARSACS patients. However, certain tests (e.g., Leiter-3 and Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices) are not recommended due to significant issues related to applicability. These results may help clinicians and researchers working with this population to select evaluations and tests applicable in this population. L'ataxie récessive spastique autosomique de Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) est une maladie neurodégénérative spinocérébelleuse impliquant des atteintes pyramidales, cérébelleuses et neuropathiques et de possibles déficits dans certaines fonctions cognitives comme le langage. La sélection des tests psychométriques appropriés implique certaines précautions liées à la présence d'incoordination des membres supérieurs et de dysarthrie. L'objectif de cette étude consiste à documenter l'applicabilité de 37 tests neuropsychologiques et de 2 tests psychologiques chez 8 individus atteints d'ARSACS (20-60 ans). Les tests ont été évalués en fonction de 4 critères d'applicabilité en utilisant une échelle à 3 niveaux: A pour excellent; B pour acceptable; C pour reconsidérer. La plupart des tests ont posé peu ou pas de limites liées à l'applicabilité chez les patients atteints d'ARSACS. Cela dit, certains tests (c.-à-d., le Leiter-3 et les Matrices Progressives de Raven) ne sont pas recommandés en raison de problèmes liés à leur applicabilité. Ces résultats pourront venir en aide aux cliniciens et chercheurs qui travaillent auprès de cette population en vue de la sélection d'évalutions et de tests

Statistical and probabilistic modeling of a cloud of particles coupled with a turbulent fluid

This paper exposes a novel exploratory formalism, the end goal of which is the numerical simulation of the dynamics of a cloud of particles weakly or strongly coupled with a turbulent fluid. Given the large panel of expertise of the list of authors, the content of this paper scans a wide range of connex notions, from the physics of turbulence to the rigorous definition of stochastic processes. Our approach is to develop reduced-order models for the dynamics of both carrying and carried phases which remain consistant within this formalism, and to set up a numerical process to validate these models. The novelties of this paper lie in the gathering of a large panel of mathematical and physical definitions and results within a common framework and an agreed vocabulary (sections 1 and 2), and in some preliminary results and achievements within this context, section 3. While the first three sections have been simplified to the context of a gas field providing that the disperse phase only retrieves energy through drag, the fourth section opens this study to the more complex situation when the disperse phase interacts with the continuous phase as well, in an energy conservative manner. This will allow us to expose the perspectives of the project and to conclude