L’appropriation des technologies de l’Internet et ses facteurs critiques de succès : Un défi de plus pour les PME ?

Divisée en deux volets, une étude exploratoire a été réalisée dans quatre PME de la région de la Mauricie au Québec. Premièrement, à l’aide d’une représentation conceptuelle basée sur les construits de compétences de l’utilisateur (Munro et al., 1997), de sentiment d’efficacité personnelle eu égard aux technologies (Compeau, Higgins et Huff, 1999 ; Compeau et Higgins, 1995) et d’absorption cognitive (Agarwal et Karahanna, 2000), une collecte de données auprès de 30 utilisateurs d’applications de l’Internet a permis d’évaluer leur utilisation et leur appropriation en contexte de PME. Dans cette perspective de l’appropriation technologique, les résultats démontrent que les compétences et le sentiment d’efficacité personnelle par rapport à ces applications peuvent jouer un rôle important, tout en étant liés de façon significative.Deuxièmement, la réalisation d’entrevues semi-dirigées auprès des gestionnaires responsables des systèmes et des technologies de l’information a permis une analyse qualitative des facteurs contribuant ou non à encourager l’utilisation et l’appropriation des applications de l’Internet dans les PME. Il a alors été constaté que l’importance des mesures de sécurité, la consultation des futurs utilisateurs, la formulation et la diffusion d’objectifs clairs, le soutien et l’encouragement à l’utilisation de la part de l’équipe dirigeante, la disponibilité des ressources ainsi que les mécanismes de gestion des problèmes et des crises survenant inévitablement sont autant de facteurs ne trouvant pas nécessairement écho auprès des gestionnaires de PME. Ces derniers sont autant d’éléments qui risquent d’affecter le degré d’appropriation technologique des utilisateurs, et ce, de plusieurs manières. Notamment, par leurs effets, directs ou indirects, sur le niveau de compétences des utilisateurs et leur sentiment d’efficacité personnelle eu égard aux technologies.Divided into two sections, an exploratory study was carried out in four SMEs of the area of Mauricie in Quebec. Initially, using a conceptual framework based on three concepts : user competence (Munro et al., 1997), computer self-efficacy (Compeau, Higgins et Huff, 1999 ; Compeau and Higgins, 1995) and cognitive absorption (Agarwal and Karahanna, 2000), a data acquisition on 30 end-users of the Internet made it possible to evaluate their use and their appropriation in context of SME. From this point of view of the technological appropriation, the results show that competences and computer self-efficacy can play an important role, while being significantly dependant.Secondly, the realization of semi-directed interviews on the managers responsible for the systems and information technologies, allowed a qualitative analysis of the factors contributing or not to encourage the use and the appropriation of the Internet in SME. It was then noted that the importance of the security measures, the consultation of the future users, the formulation and the diffusion of clear objectives, the support and the encouragement with the use made on behalf of the executive team, the availability of resources as well as the mechanisms of management of problems and crisis inevitably occurring, are as many factors that are not necessarily taken in care by the managers of SME. These are as many elements which are likely to affect the technological level of appropriation of the users, and this by several manners. In particular, by their effects, direct or indirect, on the qualification level of the end-users and their computer self-efficacy.Un estudio exploratorio, dividido en dos apartados, ha sido realizado en cuatro PyMEs de la región de Mauricia en Quebec. En primer lugar, una colecta de datos a treinta usuarios de aplicaciones de Internet, evaluó su uso y su apropiación en el contexto de la PyME mediante una representación conceptual basada en la construcción de competencias por el usuario (Munro et al., 1997), en el sentimiento de eficacia personal frente a las tecnologías (Compeau, Higgins et Huff, 1999 ; Compeau e Higgins, 1995) y en la absorción cognoscitiva (Agarwal y Karahanna, 2000). En esta perspectiva de la apropiación tecnológica, los resultados demuestran que las competencias y el sentimiento de eficacia personal frente a estas aplicaciones pueden desempeñar un papel importante, estando relacionados de manera significativa.En segundo lugar, la realización de entrevistas semi-directivas a los responsables de los sistemas y tecnologías de la información, permitió efectuar un análisis cualitativo de los factores que contribuyen, o no, a motivar la utilización y la apropiación de las aplicaciones de Internet en las PyMEs. De esta manera, se comprobó que la importancia de las medidas de seguridad, la consulta de los futuros usuarios, la formulación y la difusión de objetivos claros, el apoyo y estímulo para su uso por parte del equipo dirigente, la disponibilidad de los recursos así como los mecanismos de gestión de los problemas y de las crisis que sobrevienen inevitablemente, son factores que no son necesariamente atendidos por los gerentes de la PyME. Sin embargo, estos últimos elementos pueden afectar el nivel de apropiación tecnológica de los usuarios de diversas maneras. En particular, por sus efectos, directos o indirectos, sobre el nivel de competencias de los usuarios y su sentimiento de eficacia personal frente a las tecnologías.In vier kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen der Region Mauricie in Québec wurde eine zweistufige explorative Studie realisiert. Die begriffliche Darstellung basiert auf den Konzepten der Nutzer-Kompetenzen (Munro et al., 1997), der Effizienz-Empfindung von Personen gegenüber Technologien (Compeau et al., 1999 ; Compeau et Higgins, 1995) und dem kognitiven Aufnahmevermögen (Agarwal et Karahanna, 2000). Diese Konzepte erlaubten in einer ersten Phase, eine Erhebung bei dreissig Nutzern von Internet-Applikationen durchzuführen und erste Auswertungen bezüglich der Anwendung und Aneignung im KMU-Kontext durchzuführen. Die Resultate belegen, dass aus der Perspektive der technologischen Aneignung, die Kompetenzen und das persönliche Effizienz-Empfinden eine wichtige Rolle spielen können und auch signifikante Beziehungen untereinander bestehen.In einer zweiten Phase wurde mittels semi-strukturierten Interviews bei Verantwortlichen von Informations-Systemen und-Technologien eine qualitative Analyse durchgeführt. Dabei wurden die Faktoren untersucht, die zur (Nicht)-Begünstigung der Anwendung und Aneignung von Internetapplikationen in KMU führen können. Es wurde festgestellt, dass folgende Punkte nicht unbedingt ausreichend Aufmerksamkeit von den KMU-Verantwortlichen erfahren : Wichtigkeit der Sicherheitsmassnahmen, Hinzuziehung der zukünftigen Anwender, die Formulierung und Bekanntmachung klarer Ziele, die Unterstützung und Förderung zur Nutzung von Anwendungen von Seite der Unternehmensführung, die Verfügbarkeit von Ressourcen sowie die Mechanismen zur Bewältigung von Problemen und unerwarteten Krisen. Die Führungsverantwortlichen sind es auch, die das Niveau der technologischen Anwendung der Nutzer beeinflussen. Namentlich durch direkte und indirekte Effekte beeinflussen sie das Kompetenzniveau der Anwender und ihr persönliches Effizienz-Empfinden gegenüber Technologien

Methods to analyze SNARE-dependent vesicular fusion events that regulate autophagosome biogenesis.

Autophagy is an important catabolic pathway that preserves cellular homeostasis. The formation of autophagosomes is a complex process requiring the reorganization of membranes from different compartments. Here we describe methods to analyze SNARE-dependent vesicular fusion events involving the homotypic and heterotypic fusion of autophagosome precursor structures. These two steps are essential for the maturation of small single-membrane autophagic precursors containing ATG16L1 and mATG9 proteins into double-membrane autophagosomes. The techniques described in this review are mostly based on live cell imaging, microscopy, and biochemistry using an in vitro fusion assay, and should help researchers to study autophagosome biogenesis.We are grateful to the Wellcome Trust (Principal Research Fellowship to DCR), a Wellcome Trust/MRC Strategic award in neurodegeneration, and a Wellcome Trust Strategic Grant to Cambridge Institute for Medical Research for funding.This is the final version. It was first published by Elsevier at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104620231400365

Arf6 promotes autophagosome formation via effects on phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and phospholipase D.

Macroautophagy (in this paper referred to as autophagy) and the ubiquitin-proteasome system are the two major catabolic systems in cells. Autophagy involves sequestration of cytosolic contents in double membrane-bounded vesicles called autophagosomes. The membrane source for autophagosomes has received much attention, and diverse sources, such as the plasma membrane, Golgi, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria, have been implicated. These may not be mutually exclusive, but the exact sources and mechanism involved in the formation of autophagosomes are still unclear. In this paper, we identify a positive role for the small G protein Arf6 in autophagosome formation. The effect of Arf6 on autophagy is mediated by its role in the generation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)) and in inducing phospholipase D (PLD) activity. PIP(2) and PLD may themselves promote autophagosome biogenesis by influencing endocytic uptake of plasma membrane into autophagosome precursors. However, Arf6 may also influence autophagy by indirect effects, such as either by regulating membrane flow from other compartments or by modulating PLD activity independently of the mammalian target of rapamycin.We are grateful for funding from a Wellcome Trust Senior and Principal Research Fellowships (to D.C. Rubinsztein) and Cancer Research UK (to C. Puri)

X-Linked MTMR8 Diversity and Evolutionary History of Sub-Saharan Populations

The genetic diversity within an 11 kb segment of the MTMR8 gene in a sample of 111 sub-Saharan and 49 non-African X chromosomes was investigated to assess the early evolutionary history of sub-Saharan Africans and the out-of-Africa expansion. The analyses revealed a complex genetic structure of the Africans that contributed to the emergence of modern humans. We observed partitioning of two thirds of old lineages among southern, west/central and east African populations indicating ancient population stratification predating the out of Africa migration. Age estimates of these lineages, older than coalescence times of uniparentally inherited markers, raise the question whether contemporary humans originated from a single population or as an amalgamation of different populations separated by years of independent evolution, thus suggesting a greater antiquity of our species than generally assumed. While the oldest sub-Saharan lineages, ∼500 thousand years, are found among Khoe-San from southern-Africa, a distinct haplotype found among Biaka is likely due to admixture from an even older population. An East African population that gave rise to non-Africans underwent a selective sweep affecting the subcentromeric region where MTMR8 is located. This and similar sweeps in four other regions of the X chromosome, documented in the literature, effectively reduced genetic diversity of non-African chromosomes and therefore may have exacerbated the effect of the demographic bottleneck usually ascribed to the out of Africa migration. Our data is suggestive, however, that a bottleneck, occurred in Africa before range expansion

Sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunoassays for detecting lipoarabinomannan (LAM) and ESAT-6 in urine and serum from tuberculosis patients.

BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) infection was responsible for an estimated 1.3 million deaths in 2017. Better diagnostic tools are urgently needed. We sought to determine whether accurate TB antigen detection in blood or urine has the potential to meet the WHO target product profiles for detection of active TB.Materials and methodsWe developed Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunoassays for Lipoarabinomannan (LAM) and ESAT-6 detection with detection limits in the pg/ml range and used them to compare the concentrations of the two antigens in the urine and serum of 81 HIV-negative and -positive individuals with presumptive TB enrolled across diverse geographic sites.ResultsLAM and ESAT-6 overall sensitivities in urine were 93% and 65% respectively. LAM and ESAT-6 overall sensitivities in serum were 55% and 46% respectively. Overall specificity was ≥97% in all assays. Sensitivities were higher in HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative patients for both antigens and both sample types, with signals roughly 10-fold higher on average in urine than in serum. The two antigens showed similar concentration ranges within the same sample type and correlated.ConclusionsLAM and ESAT-6 can be detected in the urine and serum of TB patients, regardless of the HIV status and further gains in clinical sensitivity may be achievable through assay and reagent optimization. Accuracy in urine was higher with current methods and has the potential to meet the WHO accuracy target if the findings can be transferred to a point-of-care TB test

L’apport des données génétiques à la mesure généalogique des origines amérindiennes des Canadiens français

Dans le cadre d’un programme de recherche sur la diversité génétique des populations régionales du Québec, nous avons mesuré la contribution des ancêtres amérindiens au pool génique de 794 participants résidant dans les régions de Montréal, du Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean (SLSJ), de la Gaspésie et de la Côte-Nord. Les ancêtres amérindiens ont été identifiés à partir de reconstructions généalogiques (fichier BALSAC) et de données génétiques (ADN mitochondrial) à l’aide d’une approche qui repose sur l’exploitation conjointe de ces deux types de données. Les résultats indiquent que plus de la moitié des participants ont au moins un ancêtre amérindien dans leur généalogie. Ceci veut dire que la majorité des participants sont porteurs de gènes reçus de fondateurs amérindiens. Cependant la contribution génétique totale de ces ancêtres aux quatre groupes régionaux demeure faible. En effet, elle est de moins de 1 % au SLSJ et à Montréal alors qu’elle dépasse à peine 1 % sur la Côte-Nord et en Gaspésie

Deciphering the genetic structure of the Quebec founder population using genealogies

Using genealogy to study the demographic history of a population makes it possible to overcome the models and assumptions often used in population genetics. The Quebec founder population is one of the few populations in the world having access to the complete genealogy of the last 400 years. The goal of this study is to follow the evolution of the Quebec population structure over time from the beginning of European colonization until the present day. To do so, we calculated the kinship coefficients of all ancestors’ pairs in the ascending genealogy of 665 subjects from eight regional and ethnocultural groups per 25-year period. We show that the Quebec population structure appeared progressively in the St. Lawrence valley as early as 1750 with the distinction of the Saguenay and Gaspesian groups. At that time, the ancestors of two groups, the Sagueneans and the Acadians from the Gaspé Peninsula, experienced a marked increase in kinship and inbreeding levels which have shaped the structure and led to the contemporary population structure. Interestingly, this structure arose before the colonization of the Saguenay region and at the very beginning of the Gaspé Peninsula settlement. The resulting regional founder effects in these groups led to differences in the present-day identity-by-descent sharing, the Gaspé and North Shore groups sharing more large segments and the Sagueneans more short segments. This is also reflected by the distribution of the number of most recent common ancestors at different generations and their genetic contribution to the studied subjects

Transcriptional regulation of Annexin A2 promotes starvation-induced autophagy.

Autophagy is an important degradation pathway, which is induced after starvation, where it buffers nutrient deprivation by recycling macromolecules in organisms from yeast to man. While the classical pathway mediating this response is via mTOR inhibition, there are likely to be additional pathways that support the process. Here, we identify Annexin A2 as an autophagy modulator that regulates autophagosome formation by enabling appropriate ATG9A trafficking from endosomes to autophagosomes via actin. This process is dependent on the Annexin A2 effectors ARP2 and Spire1. Annexin A2 expression increases after starvation in cells in an mTOR-independent fashion. This is mediated via Jun N-terminal kinase activation of c-Jun, which, in turn, enhances the trans-activation of the Annexin A2 promoter. Annexin A2 knockdown abrogates starvation-induced autophagy, while its overexpression induces autophagy. Hence, c-Jun-mediated transcriptional responses support starvation-induced autophagy by regulating Annexin A2 expression levels.Openheimer Memorial TrustThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms904

Genetic heterogeneity in regional populations of Quebec : parental lineages in the Gaspe Peninsula

Stable colonization of the Gaspe Peninsula by Europeans started in the middle of the 18th century at the time of the British conquest of New France. The earliest settlers were Acadians, escaping British deportation policies, followed by Loyalists from the US, who preferred to remain under British rule after the Declaration of Independence. In the 19th century, the developing fishing industry attracted French Canadians from the St. Lawrence Valley and newcomers from Europe including Channel Islanders from Jersey and Guernsey. We analyzed parental lineages of the self-declared descendants of these four groups of settlers by mtDNA D-loop sequencing and Y-chromosome genotyping and compared them with French, British, and Irish samples. Their representation in terms of haplotype frequency classes reveals different signatures of founder effects, such as a loss of rare haplotypes, modification of intermediate frequency haplotypes, reduction in genetic diversity (seen in Acadians), but also enrichment by admixture. Parental lineages correlate with group identity. Descendants of early settlers, Acadians and Loyalists, preserved their identity more than those of French Canadian and Channel Islander “latecomers.” Although overall genetic diversity among Gaspesians is comparable with their European source populations, FST analysis indicated their greater differentiation. Distinct settlement history, a limited number of founders and relative genetic isolation contributed to the regionalization of the Quebec gene pool that appears less homogenous than usually anticipated

When genetics and genealogies tell different stories-maternal lineages in Gaspesia

Data from uniparentally inherited genetic systems were used to trace evolution of human populations. Reconstruction of the past primarily relies on variation in present-day populations, limiting historical inference to lineages that are found among living subjects. Our analysis of four population groups in the Gaspé Peninsula, demonstrates how this may occasionally lead to erroneous interpretations. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of Gaspesians revealed an important admixture with Native Americans. The most likely scenario links this admixture to French-Canadians from the St. Lawrence Valley who moved to Gaspesia in the 19th century. However, in contrast to genetic data, analysis of genealogical record shows that Native American maternal lineages were brought to Gaspesia in the 18th century by Acadians who settled on the south-western coast of the peninsula. Intriguingly, within three generations, virtually all Métis Acadian families separated from their nonadmixed relatives and moved eastward mixing in with other Gaspesian groups, in which Native American maternal lines are present in relatively high frequencies. Over time, the carriers of these lines eventually lost memory of their mixed Amerindian-Acadian origin. Our results show that a reliable reconstruction of population history requires cross-verification of different data sources for consistency, thus favouring multidisciplinary approaches