The FLRW cosmological model revisited: relation of the local time with th e local curvature and consequences on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle

version to be published in Advanced Studies in Theoretical PhysicsInternational audienceBy using the FLRW cosmological model, we calculated the relation between the local time and the local curvature in the case of a vacuum dominated universe. We showed that except for special values of the different constants which enter this equation, the time cannot be equal to zero. By using this assumption, we showed also that the demonstration of the uncertainty principle of Heisenberg is only an approximatio

La communication de la douleur et de l'incapacité au sein des couples dont l'un des partenaires souffre de douleur persistante

Au cours des dernières années, il a été démontré que la façon dont la douleur est communiquée, par l’entremise de comportements de douleur, est associée à l’incapacité auto-rapportée et à la trajectoire de chronicité des individus souffrant de douleur persistante. Cependant, très peu de recherches ont investigué le lien entre la perception de la douleur dans le couple et la trajectoire de chronicité des individus souffrant de douleur persistante. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, trois études ont été réalisées afin de mieux comprendre les facteurs impliqués dans la communication de la douleur au sein de couples dont l’un des partenaires souffrait de douleur persistante. Une première étude a été réalisée afin de valider une version francophone du « Pain Disability Index (PDI) », un questionnaire développé pour évaluer l’incapacité reliée à la douleur persistante. Comme attendu, les résultats indiquent que cette version du PDI reproduit la structure factorielle de la version originale du PDI et présente une bonne fidélité et validité. Une autre étude a été réalisée auprès de couples dont l’un des partenaires souffre de douleur persistante afin d’évaluer les corrélats de la justesse empathique, d’explorer la relation entre la justesse empathique reliée à la douleur et différentes variables associées à l’adaptation du patient et du conjoint et enfin d’explorer la relation entre la justesse empathique reliée à la douleur et des variables relationnelles. Les résultats suggèrent que de façon générale, la justesse empathique est associée à des résultats négatifs chez les patients souffrant de douleur persistante et ne semble pas un corrélat important de la satisfaction conjugale. Enfin, une dernière étude a été réalisée afin de comprendre l’influence de la concordance des pensées catastrophiques dans le couple sur l’émission de comportements de douleur et sur la perception de la douleur et de l’incapacité lors d’une tâche physiquement exigeante. Il a été trouvé que les participants ayant un niveau élevé de pensées catastrophiques, qui étaient en relation avec un conjoint ayant un faible niveau de pensées catastrophiques, ont émis plus de comportements de douleur que tous les autres groupes. Ces résultats suggèrent que les personnes souffrant de douleur persistante ayant un niveau élevé de pensées catastrophiques peuvent avoir besoin d’augmenter le « volume » de la communication de la douleur afin de compenser pour la tendance des conjoints ayant un faible niveau de pensées catastrophiques à sous-estimer les signaux de douleur. En résumé, puisque l’émission de comportements de douleur est associée à l’incapacité auto-rapportée des individus souffrant de douleur persistante, il est possible que toute situation qui contribue à une augmentation des comportements de douleur, contribuera également à un niveau d’incapacité plus élevé. Ainsi, d’un point de vue clinique, les interventions qui amènent le conjoint à faire de l’écoute active et à valider la personne souffrante, pourraient réduire la présence des comportements de douleur et potentiellement avoir un impact sur le niveau d’incapacité des personnes souffrant de douleur persistante.In the past, it has been shown that pain communication, through the display of pain behaviours, is related to self-reported disability and pain chronicity. However, few studies have investigated the link between pain perception in couples and the chronic trajectory of individuals suffering from persistent pain. In the current thesis, three studies were conducted in order to understand the factors that are involved in pain communication in couples where one partner suffers from persistent pain. The first study aimed to validate a francophone version of the Pain Disability Index (PDI), a questionnaire, developed to assess disability associated with persistent pain. As expected, the results showed that this version of the PDI replicate the factorial structure of the original version of the PDI and showed a good reliability and validity. Another study was conducted with couples where one partner suffers from persistent pain to investigate the correlates of empathic accuracy, explore the relation between pain-related empathic accuracy and different variables associated with adaptational outcomes for chronic pain patients and their spouses, and explore the relation between pain-related empathic accuracy and relational variables. The results generally suggest that empathic accuracy is associated with negative outcomes for the patient, and might not be an important correlate of marital satisfaction. Finally, a last study was conducted to understand the influence of couple concordance of catastrophizing on the display of pain behaviours and on the perception of pain and disability in a physically demanding task. Results revealed that high catastrophizing pain participants, who were in a relationship with a low catastrophizing spouse, displayed more pain behaviours than all other groups. These findings suggest that high catastrophizing chronic pain persons might need to increase the ‘volume’ of pain communication in order to compensate for low catastrophizing spouses’ tendency to underestimate the severity of their pain experience. In brief, since the display of pain behaviours is related to self-reported disability of chronic pain persons, it is possible that any situation that contributes to the increase of pain behaviours, will also contribute to a higher disability level. Therefore, from a clinical perspective, interventions that lead the spouse to engage in active listening and to respond with validating statements, could reduce the amount of pain behaviours and possibly have an impact on the disability level of chronic pain persons

Psychopathy and Antisocial Behaviour: The Moderating Effects of Maternal Neglect and Warmth

Psychopathy researchers have long debated the role of antisocial behaviour and criminality as part of the construct of psychopathy. The current study examined the relationship between the interpersonal and affective traits (Factor 1) of psychopathy and antisocial behaviour (a facet of Factor 2), examining possible predictors of antisocial behaviour. It was hypothesized that early environment would moderate the relationship between Factor 1 traits and antisocial behaviour. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used in order to test for possible moderators. Sex differences were found, where men scored higher in Antisocial Behaviour. Childhood Abuse did not moderate the relationship between Factor 1 traits and Antisocial Behaviour, but predicted higher Antisocial Behaviour scores independently. Maternal Neglect was especially influential as a risk factor, significantly interacting with Factor 1 traits to predict higher Antisocial Behaviour scores. Maternal Warmth was also important, interacting with Factor 1 in a protective fashion, predicting lower Antisocial Behaviour Scores

The Potential Impact of Blockchain Technology on Audit Practice

In today’s debate about the disruptive effect of Blockchain, audit and control professions are not in the spotlight while the characteristics of the technology (transparency, traceability and integration of rules and procedures in the technology itself) combined with current technical developments, process and service innovation, applications such as smart contracts and publicly-held registers, have the potential to significantly change audit and control activities. In this context, we conducted a study based on the grounded theory to understand how auditors in Switzerland anticipate the impacts of Blockchain on their daily activities. Based on the findings, three hypotheses have emerged. First, the potential disruptive effect of the technology on the profession is not anticipated, particularly by smaller audit firms. Second, the profession might go through a paradigm shift in two ways: become more IT than accounting oriented and become more forward than backward-looking. Lastly, the profile of the auditors will change

L’étudiant autochtone et les études supérieures : regards croisés au sein des institutions

Comprend des références bibliographiquesRapport de recherche ayant servi à l’élaboration du Guide d’intervention institutionnelle favorisant la persévérance et la réussite scolaire des étudiants autochtones au Cégep et à l’Université. Réalisé dans le cadre du programme Chantiers 3 mis en place par le Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.Diffusé avec l'aimable autorisation des auteurs. Le document original est également accessible en ligne : https://reussiteautochtone.wordpress.com/Voir aussi le "Guide d’intervention institutionnelle favorisant la persévérance et la réussite scolaire des étudiants autochtones du cégep de Baie-Comeau" et le "Guide d’accueil des étudiantes et des étudiants autochtones", également disponibles dans EDUQ.inf

Tree species richness induces strong intraspecific variability of beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaf traits and alleviates edaphic stress

Manipulating stand composition is an important management tool that foresters can use to affect the nature of forests and ecosystem processes. In mixed stands, interspecific interactions among trees can cause changes in tree performances. Nevertheless, these interactions are context dependent (cf. stress-gradient hypothesis, SGH). We thus investigated how intraspecific functional changes in leaf trait (19 traits) of European beech (Fagus sylvatica) were influenced by stand composition. We compared pure beech stands with four mixed stands containing from one to three additional tree species along a gradient of edaphic stress (gradient of soil water-holding capacity and rooting depth). First, we demonstrated that stand composition induced strong intraspecific leaf trait variation in beech for LDMC, LMA, phenolic compounds, leaf pH and magnesium concentration, suggesting higher nutrient acquisition by more diverse stands. Nevertheless, these results were modulated by edaphic stress. Mixed stands only conferred an advantage in relatively stressed sites (luvisol and leptosol). Besides, the addition of oak to beech stands had unexpected negative effects in sites with less severe stress (cambisol) as indicated by the null or positive LogRR of LMA, LDMC and phenolics. This study found that stand composition is an important though often-overlooked driver of intraspecific variability in leaf quality, and potentially reflects changes in beech tree physiology and productivity. Our results also suggest that positive interactions prevail in sites with stressful conditions. Such validation of the SGH is rare in natural or managed mature forests. Lastly, we strongly recommend that forest managers consider stand composition and abiotic factors when implementing forest growth models to improve their yield predictions.Peer reviewe