The colloquium or Thesis Proposal / Le colloque ou proposition de thèse

As a second installment of a series of articles focusing on questions related to graduate students’ experiences, the first having been an examination of students’ awareness of their program requirements, we now look at one particularly important step in graduate studies, the colloquium or thesis proposal, and we discuss students’ thesis writing strategies. As a reminder, these articles are based on a survey sent to graduate students across Canada, as well as history department websites and student handbooks.Comme second article portant sur les expériences des étudiants diplômés, nous examinons maintenant une étape particulièrement importante dans les études supérieures, le colloque ou proposition de thèse, et nous discutons de certaines stratégies d’écriture de thèse des étudiants.En rappel, ces articles sont basés sur un sondage envoyé aux étudiants diplômés à travers le Canada, ainsi que sur les sites Web des départements d'histoire et les guides pour étudiants développés par les départements

Constructing a National Hero: Cancer Politics, Masculinity and Canadian Identity in the Terry Fox Story

Looking at the multitude of honours received by Terry Fox during his short life and bestowed upon him after he passed away, it is undeniable that the marathon runner’s historical significance is tremendous. Despite the fact that he did not achieve his objective of running across Canada, and even though his life in the public eye only spanned a little over a year, Fox’s legacy and public and official recognition are quite impressive. But although a nation’s heroes may be their most celebrated characters, they are also often the least examined, at least critically. Fox has been a tremendously influential figure in Canadian history, not just recently, and he has redefined for many the image of courage, determination, and selflessness. How did Terry Fox become a hero? How did this particular heroic narrative emerge? How has he been remembered and commemorated over the years? What messages have been disseminated or left out about him, about what he meant to Canadians and what he means to Canadian history? And, in the end, what does the memory of Terry Fox as a national hero tell us about Canada as a country? These are some of the questions that have remained unexplored until now. We examine the construction process of Terry Fox as a national hero, which is best illustrated through the framework of hegemonic or dominant discourse. We indeed find that the power to define the meaning of the Fox story belonged to a few and offered them opportunities to reshape the past in order to influence the present. Among the multiple and tightly intertwined characteristics of this process, we chose to focus on discourses constructed through the media and through commemoration, about cancer politics, masculinity and national identity

Le processus d'héroïsation du Rocket

Cette étude porte sur le processus d'héroïsation qu'a connu Maurice «Le Rocket» Richard au cours de sa vie. Trois étapes ont été déterminées et sont analysées, la création du héros de 1942 à 1960, la confirmation de son statut de 1959 à 1996 et son institutionnalisation de 1996 à 2007. La première étape nous fait voir la lente construction du héros, Maurice Richard, de ses débuts hésitants à l'émeute qui le propulse au sommet de la célébrité. Cette célébrité est ensuite confirmée par et utilisée pour l'octroi d'honneurs officiels nouvellement créés. Finalement, celui qui est légitimé par ces prix devient lui-même outil de légitimation à la fin du processus; son image est devenue un symbole en elle-même. Ces étapes permettent de revoir les principaux événements dans la vie du Rocket mais plus particulièrement de constater des changements dans les histoires que l'on raconte à son sujet. La nature et le contenu de ces modifications nous informent de changements similaires dans la société, par exemple une diminution de la violence auparavant décrite en détail ou l'image changeante de la masculinité. L'image de Maurice Richard s'éloigne donc peu à peu de la réalité; elle devient l'image du héros dont la société a besoin et vient à représenter les valeurs que cette société veut promouvoir. À plus grande échelle, ces constatations nous amènent à réfléchir à la construction de la mémoire collective, un phénomène bien illustré par le processus d'héroïsation. En effet, ce processus où l'homme devient héros représente aussi la mise en commun et la modification des mémoires qui existent au sujet de Maurice Richard. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Histoire du Québec, XXe siècle, Maurice Richard, Héros, Hockey, Mémoire

014— Promoting Interest in STEM through Neuroscience in a Local After School Program

We are going to explain our three experiences we had with RKids: what information we talked about (the 4 lobes and 5 senses, optical illusions, and memory), how well they understood the concepts, how much they enjoyed learning, what we thought was the most effective method for teaching them Neuroscience at a young age, what tools and supplies we used, if their Kahoot! answers improved over time, etc. We want to see if our methods got them further intrigued into the science field

Amyloid-β1–43 cerebrospinal fluid levels and the interpretation of APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2 mutations

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilins (PSENs) could potentially lead to the production of longer amyloidogenic A beta peptides. Amongst these, A beta(1-43)is more prone to aggregation and has higher toxic properties than the long-known A beta(1-42). However, a direct effect on A beta(1-43)in biomaterials of individuals carrying genetic mutations in the known AD genes is yet to be determined. Methods N = 1431 AD patients (n = 280 early-onset (EO) andn = 1151 late-onset (LO) AD) and 809 control individuals were genetically screened forAPPandPSENs. For the first time, A beta(1-43)levels were analysed in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 38 individuals carrying pathogenic or unclear rare mutations or the commonPSEN1p.E318G variant and compared with A beta(1-42)and A beta 1-40CSF levels. The soluble sAPP alpha and sAPP beta species were also measured for the first time in mutation carriers. Results A known pathogenic mutation was identified in 5.7% of EOAD patients (4.6%PSEN1, 1.07%APP) and in 0.3% of LOAD patients. Furthermore, 12 known variants with unclear pathogenicity and 11 novel were identified. Pathogenic and unclear mutation carriers showed a significant reduction in CSF A beta(1-43)levels compared to controls (p = 0.037; < 0.001). CSF A beta(1-43)levels positively correlated with CSF A beta(1-42)in both pathogenic and unclear carriers and controls (allp < 0.001). The p.E318G carriers showed reduced A beta(1-43)levels (p < 0.001), though genetic association with AD was not detected. sAPP alpha and sAPP beta CSF levels were significantly reduced in the group of unclear (p = 0.006; 0.005) and p.E318G carriers (p = 0.004; 0.039), suggesting their possible involvement in AD. Finally, using A beta(1-43)and A beta(1-42)levels, we could re-classify as "likely pathogenic" 3 of the unclear mutations. Conclusion This is the first time that A beta(1-43)levels were analysed in CSF of AD patients with genetic mutations in the AD causal genes. The observed reduction of A beta(1-43)inAPPandPSENscarriers highlights the pathogenic role of longer A beta peptides in AD pathogenesis. Alterations in A beta(1-43)could prove useful in understanding the pathogenicity of unclearAPPandPSENsvariants, a critical step towards a more efficient genetic counselling

TBK1 mutation spectrum in an extended European patient cohort with frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

We investigated the mutation spectrum of the TANK-Binding Kinase 1 (TBK1) gene and its associated phenotypic spectrum by exonic resequencing of TBK1 in a cohort of 2,538 patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or FTD plus ALS, ascertained within the European Early-Onset Dementia Consortium. We assessed pathogenicity of predicted protein-truncating mutations by measuring loss of RNA expression. Functional effect of in-frame amino acid deletions and missense mutations was further explored in vivo on protein level and in vitro by an NFB-induced luciferase reporter assay and measuring phosphorylated TBK1. The protein-truncating mutations led to the loss of transcript through nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. For the in-frame amino acid deletions, we demonstrated loss of TBK1 or phosphorylated TBK1 protein. An important fraction of the missense mutations compromised NFB activation indicating that at least some functions of TBK1 are lost. Although missense mutations were also present in controls, over three times more mutations affecting TBK1 functioning were found in the mutation fraction observed in patients only, suggesting high-risk alleles (P = 0.03). Total mutation frequency for confirmed TBK1 LoF mutations in the European cohort was 0.7%, with frequencies in the clinical subgroups of 0.4% in FTD, 1.3% in ALS, and 3.6% in FTD-ALS

H5N1 and 1918 Pandemic Influenza Virus Infection Results in Early and Excessive Infiltration of Macrophages and Neutrophils in the Lungs of Mice

Fatal human respiratory disease associated with the 1918 pandemic influenza virus and potentially pandemic H5N1 viruses is characterized by severe lung pathology, including pulmonary edema and extensive inflammatory infiltrate. Here, we quantified the cellular immune response to infection in the mouse lung by flow cytometry and demonstrate that mice infected with highly pathogenic (HP) H1N1 and H5N1 influenza viruses exhibit significantly high numbers of macrophages and neutrophils in the lungs compared to mice infected with low pathogenic (LP) viruses. Mice infected with the 1918 pandemic virus and a recent H5N1 human isolate show considerable similarities in overall lung cellularity, lung immune cell sub-population composition and cellular immune temporal dynamics. Interestingly, while these similarities were observed, the HP H5N1 virus consistently elicited significantly higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in whole lungs and primary human macrophages, revealing a potentially critical difference in the pathogenesis of H5N1 infections. These results together show that infection with HP influenza viruses such as H5N1 and the 1918 pandemic virus leads to a rapid cell recruitment of macrophages and neutrophils into the lungs, suggesting that these cells play a role in acute lung inflammation associated with HP influenza virus infection. In addition, primary macrophages and dendritic cells were also susceptible to 1918 and H5N1 influenza virus infection in vitro and in infected mouse lung tissue

Learning to Use Illumination Gradients as an Unambiguous Cue to Three Dimensional Shape

The luminance and colour gradients across an image are the result of complex interactions between object shape, material and illumination. Using such variations to infer object shape or surface colour is therefore a difficult problem for the visual system. We know that changes to the shape of an object can affect its perceived colour, and that shading gradients confer a sense of shape. Here we investigate if the visual system is able to effectively utilise these gradients as a cue to shape perception, even when additional cues are not available. We tested shape perception of a folded card object that contained illumination gradients in the form of shading and more subtle effects such as inter-reflections. Our results suggest that observers are able to use the gradients to make consistent shape judgements. In order to do this, observers must be given the opportunity to learn suitable assumptions about the lighting and scene. Using a variety of different training conditions, we demonstrate that learning can occur quickly and requires only coarse information. We also establish that learning does not deliver a trivial mapping between gradient and shape; rather learning leads to the acquisition of assumptions about lighting and scene parameters that subsequently allow for gradients to be used as a shape cue. The perceived shape is shown to be consistent for convex and concave versions of the object that exhibit very different shading, and also similar to that delivered by outline, a largely unrelated cue to shape. Overall our results indicate that, although gradients are less reliable than some other cues, the relationship between gradients and shape can be quickly assessed and the gradients therefore used effectively as a visual shape cue

TBK1 Mutation Spectrum in an Extended European Patient Cohort with Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

We investigated the mutation spectrum of the TANK-Binding Kinase 1 (TBK1) gene and its associated phenotypic spectrum by exonic resequencing of TBK1 in a cohort of 2,538 patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or FTD plus ALS, ascertained within the European Early-Onset Dementia Consortium. We assessed pathogenicity of predicted protein-truncating mutations by measuring loss of RNA expression. Functional effect of in-frame amino acid deletions and missense mutations was further explored in vivo on protein level and in vitro by an NFκB-induced luciferase reporter assay and measuring phosphorylated TBK1. The protein-truncating mutations led to the loss of transcript through nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. For the in-frame amino acid deletions, we demonstrated loss of TBK1 or phosphorylated TBK1 protein. An important fraction of the missense mutations compromised NFκB activation indicating that at least some functions of TBK1 are lost. Although missense mutations were also present in controls, over three times more mutations affecting TBK1 functioning were found in the mutation fraction observed in patients only, suggesting high-risk alleles (P = 0.03). Total mutation frequency for confirmed TBK1 LoF mutations in the European cohort was 0.7%, with frequencies in the clinical subgroups of 0.4% in FTD, 1.3% in ALS, and 3.6% in FTD-ALS

L’expérience des étudiants diplômés / Graduate Student Experience

Voici donc un premier article portant sur l’expérience des élèves diplômés. Je dois tout d’abord remercier les étudiants qui ont répondu à l’appel et m’ont fourni des réponses très détaillées, un merci également au Comité des étudiants diplômés qui a permis de rejoindre des étudiants à travers le pays.As promised in the last issue of the CHA Bulletin, this is the first of a series of articles focusing on questions related to graduate students’ experiences. I must begin by thanking all the graduate students who have answered the call and provided me with quite detailed responses, a thank you as well to the Graduate Student Committee who has been instrumental in reaching out to students across the country