Immigrer et devenir parent : l'expérience d'intégration sociale vécue par de nouvelles mères immigrantes de la ville de Québec

Depuis une dizaine d’années, la ville de Québec fait face à une augmentation significative du nombre de nouveaux arrivants. Parmi ces personnes, beaucoup de jeunes adultes s’établissent dans la région de la Capitale-Nationale dans l’objectif d’y travailler et d’y fonder une famille. L’on observe que plusieurs jeunes femmes immigrantes auront leur premier enfant à l’intérieur des deux premières années d’arrivée au Québec. Alors qu elles seront en plein processus d’adaptation au nouveau pays, elles auront également à composer avec un nouveau rôle, soit celui d’être mère. Cette étude exploratoire s’intéresse à la façon dont leur entrée dans la maternité influence leur intégration sociale dans un contexte post-migratoire récent. C’est par une approche qualitative que huit entrevues semi-dirigées ont été conduites auprès de femmes immigrantes habitant dans la région de Québec. Il apparaît que pour les femmes rencontrées, le choix d’immigrer s’inscrit avant tout dans la trajectoire familiale. Les résultats de l’étude suggèrent que les barrières linguistiques, le statut socio-économique précaire et les difficultés psychologiques sont considérés par les femmes comme les principaux obstacles à leur intégration sociale. Malgré certains défis, les données indiquent que plusieurs d’entre elles auront vécu l’arrivée de l’enfant comme une opportunité de renforcer leur intégration sociale et de s’enraciner dans leur nouveau pays. Pour d’autres, cette double transition sera vécue plus péniblement en impliquant des difficultés psychologiques agissant comme barrières à l’intégration.For the past ten years, Québec City has faced a significant increase in the number of newcomers. Among these people, many young adults settle in the Capitale-Nationale region with the objective of working and starting a family there. We observe that many young immigrant women will have their first child within the first two years of arrival in Quebec. While they are in the process of adapting to the new country, they will also have to deal with a new role, being a mother. This exploratory study looks at how their entry into maternity influences their social integration in a recent post-migration context. It is through a qualitative approach that eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with immigrant women living in the Quebec City area. It appears that for the women we met, the choice to immigrate is above all part of the family trajectory. The results of the study suggest that language barriers, precarious socio-economic status and psychological difficulties are considered by women as the main barriers to their social integration. Despite some challenges, the data indicates that many of them will have experienced the arrival of the child as an opportunity to strengthen their social integration and take root in their new country. For others, this double transition will be experienced more painfully by involving psychological difficulties acting as barriers to integration

La composition en acides gras des mitochondries cardiaques dicte-t-elle la limite supérieure de tolérance thermique chez l'omble de fontaine

RÉSUMÉ : Dans un contexte de changements globaux, il est important d'étudier les traits physiologiques et les fonctions métaboliques qui dictent la sensibilité thermique des ectothermes et qui expliquent la variabilité de limites supérieures de tolérance thermique observée entre espèces, populations ou individus. La composition en acides gras des phospholipides membranaires a la capacité de s'adapter en fonction des changements de température et est connue pour jouer un rôle dans la production d'ATP et la résistance au stress oxydant. L'objectif de cette étude est d'établir la relation entre le profil d'acides gras et la température critique maximale (exprimée en °C (CTmax) ou minutes (tCTmax)) chez l'omble de fontaine (Salvelinus fontinalis) afin de trouver d'éventuels traits physiologiques expliquant la variabilité de la tolérance thermique au sein de cette espèce. Nous voulions tester l'hypothèse selon laquelle la susceptibilité des membranes mitochondriales cardiaques à la peroxydation dicte les limites thermiques. Nous avons utilisé une population domestiquée et une sauvage. La CTmax de chaque poisson a été déterminée. Comme la robustesse des membranes mitochondriales du cœur au stress oxydant a été associée à la tolérance thermique chez les poissons, nous nous sommes concentrés sur le profil lipidique des mitochondries du cœur, mais nous avons également examiné ceux du cerveau, du plasma sanguin et des érythrocytes. Les profils d'acides gras ont été déterminés par chromatographie en phase gazeuse avec détecteur à ionisation de flamme. Le ratio oméga-3/oméga-6, la teneur en oméga-6 et en acide arachidonique (ARA) dans les mitochondries cardiaques sont corrélés au tCTmax chez l'omble de fontaine domestique. Seul l'ARA était corrélé chez les ombles sauvages dans le même tissu et chez les ombles domestiques dans le plasma sanguin. Les poissons avec une tCTmax plus élevée étaient associés à un ratio oméga-3/oméga-6 plus élevé et à une teneur plus faible en oméga-6 et en ARA. Ces découvertes peuvent expliquer en partie la variabilité de la tolérance thermique au sein de cette espèce. Cependant, ils ne peuvent pas expliquer la différence de tCTmax observée entre les deux populations étudiées. D'autres mécanismes et traits physiologiques doivent intervenir pour expliquer ces différences. -- Mot(s) clé(s) en français : CTmax, mitochondrie, cœur, stress oxydant, peroxydation des lipides, acide arachidonique, ratio oméga-3/oméga-6. -- ABSTRACT : In the context of global changes, it is urgent to explore physiological traits and metabolic functions that may dictate thermal sensibility of ectotherms, and explain the variability of upper thermal limits (expressed in °C (CTmax) or minutes (tCTmax)) observed between species, populations or individuals. Fatty acid profiles in membrane phospholipids have the capacity to adapt according to temperature changes and are known to play a role in ATP production and resistance against oxidative stress. The purpose of this research is to find a relationship between fatty acid profiles and CTmax in brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) to prospect for possible physiological traits explaining the thermal tolerance variability within this species. We wanted to test the hypothesis that the susceptibility of cardiac mitochondrial membranes to peroxidation dictates the thermal limits. We used a domesticated and a wild population. CTmax of each fish was determined through a temperature challenge test. As the robustness of the heart's mitochondrial membrane to oxidative stress has been associated with the thermal tolerance, we decided to focus on heart mitochondria lipid profiles, but we also looked at those of the brain, blood plasma and erythrocytes. Fatty acids profiles were determined by gas chromatography. N-3/n-6 ratio, omega-6 content and arachidonic acid (ARA) are linked to tCTmax in heart mitochondria of farmed brook charr. Only ARA is correlated in wild fish in the same tissue and in blood plasma of farmed fish in blood plasma. Fish with higher tCTmax were associated with higher n-3/n-6 ratio and lower omega-6 and ARA content. These findings can partly explain the divergences of thermal tolerance within this species. However, they cannot explain the tCTmax observed between the two studied populations. Other mechanisms and physiological traits must be involved to explain these differences. -- Mot(s) clé(s) en anglais : CTmax, mitochondria, heart, oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, arachidonic acid, omega-3/omega-6 ratio

Impact of COVID-19 on the prescribing pattern of oral anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery

Background: Because of logistic challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) were favored over warfarin in patients presenting postoperative atrial fibrillation (AF) after cardiac surgery in our institution. Considering the limited evidence supporting the use of DOAC in this context, we sought to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this practice change. Methods: A retrospective study was performed with patients from the Quebec City metropolitan area who were hospitalized at the Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec-Université Laval following cardiac surgery and who required oral anticoagulant (OAC) for postoperative AF. The primary objective was to compare the pre- and peri-COVID-19 period for OAC prescribing patterns and the incidence of thrombotic and bleeding events at 3 months post-surgery. The secondary objective was to compare DOAC to warfarin in terms of thrombotic events and bleeding events. Results: A total of 233 patients were included, 142 from the pre-COVID-19 and 91 from the peri-COVID-19 period, respectively. Both groups had equivalent proportions of preoperative AF (48%) and new-onset postoperative AF (52%). The proportion of patients treated with a DOAC increased from 13% pre-COVID-19 to 82% peri-COVID-19. This change in practice was not associated with a significant difference in the incidence of thrombotic or bleeding events 3 months postoperatively. However, compared to DOAC, warfarin was associated with a higher incidence of major bleeding. Only 1 thrombotic event was reported with warfarin, and none were reported with DOAC. Conclusion: This study suggests that DOAC are an effective and safe alternative to warfarin to treat postoperative AF after cardiac surgery and that this practice can be safely maintained

Anti-inflammatory properties of natural ingredients used in combinations on adjuvant induced arthritis in rats

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis has seen a significant increase in both incidence and prevalence and its treatments show limited efficiency due to their undesirable effects on patient health. Therefore, major interests lie in the development of treatments with drugs derived from plants or other natural sources with little adverse effects as an alternative to current treatments. Hypothesis/Purpose: The present study evaluates the therapeutic effects of glucosamine against rheumatoid arthritis in combination with hyaluronic acid, resin extract of Boswellia serrata or a bark extract of Salix alba on an animal model. We suggest that combinations with plants could improve the attenuation of arthritis symptoms and articular inflammation. Study design: We used Freund’s complete adjuvant on rats as models of rheumatoid arthritis. Individuals were separated into eight experimental groups: a control group without arthritis, one with arthritis and without treatment, and six other groups receiving a daily therapeutic treatment from days 14 to 29. Methods: Hind-paw thickness and arthritis scores were measured at days 0, 3, 6 and 9 post-induction, and then every day from days 12 to 29 with a digital caliper and a score system respectively. At the end of the treatment, the mRNA content of three pro-inflammatory cytokines from cartilage was measured using real-time PCR. The total antioxidant activity was evaluated with an Antioxidant Assay Kit. Results: Treatments with Boswellia serrata and Salix alba (Glu+Hyal A+Bosw, Glu+Bosw+Sal, Glu+Bosw and Glu+Hyal A+Sal) saw significant reductions in hind-paw thickness and arthritis scores at the end of the experiment when compared to the untreated group. Expression of pro-inflammatory gene IL 17A was also reduced, but only the Glu+Hyal A+Sal combination significantly decreased the expression of IL-1β and TNF-α. The total antioxidant activity in blood plasma significantly increased in groups treated with plant extracts. Conclusion: The addition of Boswellia serrata and/or Salix alba attenuates clinical signs of rheumatoid arthritis in Freund’s complete adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats likely due to both their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties

Développement d'une échelle interdisciplinaire bilingue évaluant l'auto-efficacité à participer à l'aide médicale à mourir

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is a complex process involving the person seeking care and their relatives. MAiD involves physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs, and consequently the involvement of an interdisciplinary team is beneficial. Therefore, updating the knowledge and skills of healthcare and social services professionals is critical. An interdisciplinary team from Laval University (Quebec, Canada) has developed a continuous training program for all health care and social services professionals who could be involved in the care of persons who request MAiD and their loved ones. It is crucial to assess whether the objectives of the continuous training program are being met, especially since this new training addresses several complex issues (legal, ethical, and clinical). Bandura's self-efficacy theory has been widely used to develop scales for assessing the impact of training programs and identifying knowledge gaps. Bandura's theory states that feeling secure in one's self-efficacy leads to self-determined motivation. Although there are various scales intended to measure self-efficacy in palliative care, none include self-efficacy for participating in the process surrounding MAiD. As a result, we aim to create a bilingual (English-French) interdisciplinary scale to assess self-efficacy for participating in the process surrounding MAiD. The scale will allow decision-makers and researchers to identify current knowledge gaps. It will also be useful for assessing the impact of current and future training programs addressing this end-of-life practice. In this work in progress, we briefly introduce the training program and the future steps in the development and validation of the scale.L'aide médicale à mourir (AMM) est un processus complexe impliquant la personne qui demande le soin et ses proches. L'AMM implique des besoins physiques, psychosociaux et spirituels. Par conséquent, l'implication d'une équipe interdisciplinaire est bénéfique et la mise à niveau des connaissances et des compétences des professionnel.es est essentielle. Une équipe interdisciplinaire de l'Université Laval (Québec, Canada) a développé un programme de formation continue destiné aux professionnelles de la santé et des services sociaux susceptible d'être impliqué es dans ls soins et services des personnes qui demandent l’AMM et de leurs proches. Il est crucial d'évaluer si les objectifs du programme de formation continue sont atteints, d'autant plus que cette nouvelle formation aborde plusieurs questions complexes (juridiques, éthiques et cliniques). La théorie du sentiment d'auto efficacité de Bandura a été largement utilisée pour développer des échelles permettant d'évaluer l'impact des programmes de formation et d'identifier les lacunes en matière de connaissances. Cette théorie stipule que le fait de se sentir sûre de son efficacité personnelle conduit à une motivation intrinsèque à accomplir le comportement visé. Bien qu'il existe plusieurs échelles destinées à mesurer l'auto-efficacité dans le domaine des soins palliatifs, aucune n'inclut l'auto-efficacité pour la participation au processus entourant l’AMM. Par conséquent, nous développons une échelle interdisciplinaire bilingue (anglais-français) pour évaluer l'auto-efficacité à participer au processus entourant l’AMM. L'échelle permettra aux décideuses, décideurs et aux chercheuses et chercheurs d'identifier les lacunes actuelles en matière de connaissances. Elle sera également utile pour évaluer l'impact des programmes de formation actuels et futurs portant sur cette pratique de fin de vie. Dans cet article, nous présentons brièvement le programme de formation et les étapes futures du développement et de la validation de l'échelle

Pixelated microfluidics for drug screening on tumour spheroids and ex vivo microdissected tumour explants

ABSTRACT: Anticancer drugs have the lowest success rate of approval in drug development programs. Thus, preclinical assays that closely predict the clinical responses to drugs are of utmost importance in both clinical oncology and pharmaceutical research. 3D tumour models preserve the tumoral architecture and are cost- and time-efficient. However, the short-term longevity, limited throughput, and limitations of live imaging of these models have so far driven researchers towards less realistic tumour models such as monolayer cell cultures. Here, we present an open-space microfluidic drug screening platform that enables the formation, culture, and multiplexed delivery of several reagents to various 3D tumour models, namely cancer cell line spheroids and ex vivo primary tumour fragments. Our platform utilizes a microfluidic pixelated chemical display that creates isolated adjacent flow sub-units of reagents, which we refer to as fluidic ‘pixels’, over tumour models in a contact-free fashion. Up to nine different treatment conditions can be tested over 144 samples in a single experiment. We provide a proof-of-concept application by staining fixed and live tumour models with multiple cellular dyes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the response of the tumour models to biological stimuli can be assessed using the platform. Upscaling the microfluidic platform to larger areas can lead to higher throughputs, and thus will have a significant impact on developing treatments for cancer

Development of a bilingual interdisciplinary scale assessing self-efficacy for participating in Medical Assistance in Dying

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is a complex process involving the person seeking care and their relatives. MAiD involves physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs, and consequently the involvement of an interdisciplinary team is beneficial. Therefore, updating the knowledge and skills of healthcare and social services professionals is critical. An interdisciplinary team from Laval University (Quebec, Canada) has developed a continuous training program for all health care and social services professionals who could be involved in the care of persons who request MAiD and their loved ones. It is crucial to assess whether the objectives of the continuous training program are being met, especially since this new training addresses several complex issues (legal, ethical, and clinical). Bandura's self-efficacy theory has been widely used to develop scales for assessing the impact of training programs and identifying knowledge gaps. Bandura's theory states that feeling secure in one's self-efficacy leads to self-determined motivation. Although there are various scales intended to measure self-efficacy in palliative care, none include self-efficacy for participating in the process surrounding MAiD. As a result, we aim to create a bilingual (English-French) interdisciplinary scale to assess self-efficacy for participating in the process surrounding MAiD. The scale will allow decision-makers and researchers to identify current knowledge gaps. It will also be useful for assessing the impact of current and future training programs addressing this end-of-life practice. In this work in progress, we briefly introduce the training program and the future steps in the development and validation of the scale

Development of a bilingual interdisciplinary scale assessing self-efficacy for participating in Medical Assistance in Dying

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is a complex process involving the person seeking care and their relatives. MAiD involves physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs, and consequently the involvement of an interdisciplinary team is beneficial. Therefore, updating the knowledge and skills of healthcare and social services professionals is critical. An interdisciplinary team from Laval University (Quebec, Canada) has developed a continuous training program for all health care and social services professionals who could be involved in the care of persons who request MAiD and their loved ones. It is crucial to assess whether the objectives of the continuous training program are being met, especially since this new training addresses several complex issues (legal, ethical, and clinical). Bandura's self-efficacy theory has been widely used to develop scales for assessing the impact of training programs and identifying knowledge gaps. Bandura's theory states that feeling secure in one's self-efficacy leads to self-determined motivation. Although there are various scales intended to measure self-efficacy in palliative care, none include self-efficacy for participating in the process surrounding MAiD. As a result, we aim to create a bilingual (English-French) interdisciplinary scale to assess self-efficacy for participating in the process surrounding MAiD. The scale will allow decision-makers and researchers to identify current knowledge gaps. It will also be useful for assessing the impact of current and future training programs addressing this end-of-life practice. In this work in progress, we briefly introduce the training program and the future steps in the development and validation of the scale

Publisher Correction: Sex-dimorphic genetic effects and novel loci for fasting glucose and insulin variability.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21276-3</jats:p