Energy resolution analysis of a domestic neutron imager

The calibration and correction of the Neutron Spectroscope (NSPECT) time-of-flight (ToF) system are presented. This instrument is a double-scatter telescope designed to detect neutrons and gamma rays for the identification and location of radioactive materials. The ToF resolution is 0.72 ns FWHM. Results are reported for the ToF characterization using data obtained in the laboratory. An anomalous feature in the gamma-ray energy spectra measured with NSPECT neutron detectors is examined. A design based on NSPECT is proposed for the assay of spent nuclear fuel, where portability is increased in exchange for source location capabilities. The proposed modular device is modifiable for numerous safety applications at participating facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle. Optimization of the instrument to characterize alpha-neutron reactions in irradiated fuel is discussed. A delicate balance between energy resolution and detector efficiency is required. Results from laboratory testing are reported and compared to NSPECT measurements

Relations parents immigrants-écoles dans l’espace montréalais : au-delà des tensions, la rencontre des rêves

La récente controverse autour des accommodements raisonnables met en relief les enjeux identitaires, dans les écoles qui desservent une clientèle de plus en plus pluriethnique. La création des liens parents immigrants-écoles, essentielle et souhaitée, est modulée par des tensions sociales et politiques et représente un défi parfois difficile à relever. Cet article rapporte les résultats de groupes de discussion avec des parents et des enseignants dans deux écoles montréalaises, dans le but de documenter la relation parents immigrants-écoles. S’inspirant des recommandations formulées par les participants, la discussion offre des pistes pour repenser les échanges entre les parents et la communauté afin de générer des domaines de compréhension partagée.The recent controversy over reasonable accommodation has underscored identity issues in the increasingly multiethnic student population of Montreal schools. While the establishment of good relations between immigrant parents and schools is essential and to be encouraged, it is subject to sociopolitical tensions and represents a sometimes daunting challenge. In this article, the results of parent-teacher focus groups that were organized in two Montreal schools to collect data on these relations are presented. Building on recommendations made by parents and teachers, the article suggests avenues for rethinking interaction between parents and the community as a way of laying the groundwork for mutual understanding.La reciente controversia alrededor de los acomodamientos razonables hace resaltar los retos identitarios en las escuelas que atienden a una clientela cada vez más multiétnica. La creación de los vínculos padres inmigrantes - escuelas, esencial y deseada, está modulada por tensiones sociales y políticas y representa un desafío a veces difícil de enfrentar. Este artículo presenta los resultados de unos grupos de discusión con padres y maestros en dos escuelas de Montreal, con el propósito de documentar la relación padres inmigrantes - escuelas. Inspirándose de las recomendaciones formuladas por los participantes, la discusión ofrece pistas para repensar los intercambios entre los padres y la comunicad, con la finalidad de generar dominios de comprensión compartida

Influence of Secondary Hyperparathyroidism Induced by Low Dietary Calcium, Vitamin D Deficiency, and Renal Failure on Circulating Rat PTH Molecular Forms

Rats(r) with secondary hyperparathyroidism were studied to define the relationship between vitamin D metabolites and rPTH levels measured by 3 different rat ELISAs. Controls and renal failure (RF) rats were on a normal diet, while 2 groups on a low-calcium (-Ca) or a vitamin D-deficient (-D) diet. RF was induced surgically. Mild RF rats had normal calcium and 25(OH)D but reduced 1,25(OH)2D levels (P < .001) with a 2.5-fold increased in rPTH (P < .001). Severe RF rats and those on a -Ca or -D diet had reduced calcium (P < .01) and 25(OH)D levels (P < .05), with rPTH increased by 2 (-Ca diet; P < .05), 4 (-D diet; P < .001), and 20-folds (RF; P < .001) while 1,25(OH)2D was high (-Ca diet: P < .001) or low (-D diet, RF: P < .001). 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D were positively and negatively related on the -Ca and -D diets, respectively. rPTH molecular forms behaved as expected in RF and on -Ca diet, but not on -D diet with more C-rPTH fragments when less were expected. This may be related to the short-time course of this study compared to prior studies

Du jeu des identités à la transformation de réalités partagées : un programme d’ateliers d’expression théâtrale pour adolescents immigrants et réfugiés

La migration à l’adolescence est particulièrement délicate à cause du fardeau conjugué que représente à ce stade de la vie l’intégration des multiples pertes associées à la migration et l’adaptation au statut de jeune adulte. Le programme d’ateliers d’expression théâtrale vise à faciliter l’adaptation des adolescents immigrants et réfugiés à leur nouvel environnement à partir d’un travail créatif autour des enjeux identitaires liés à la migration et à un statut de minorité. Ces ateliers conjuguent une approche inspirée du théâtre playback qui permet une mise en scène du vécu personnel et le théâtre forum de Boal qui met l’accent sur la transformation collective de l’expérience. Les résultats d’une évaluation qualitative des ateliers d’expression théâtrale suggèrent que ceux-ci constituent un lieu d’expression ou les participants se sentent en sécurité et soutenus par l’équipe ainsi que par le caractère rituel du jeu théâtral. Les ateliers permettent de représenter la multiplicité des valeurs et des références internes et externes de l’adolescent et de les renégocier sans dichotomiser le « eux » et le « nous », en s’adressant aux questions de justice sociale qui se posent à la collectivité. Ils favorisent aussi l’élaboration des transitions de l’adolescence en permettant l’évocation des pertes de la migration et le passage vers une identité hybride.Migration during adolescence represents a challenge for the youth who need to simultaneously work through the multiple losses associated with the migratory journey and adapt to a young adult status. The drama workshop program described here was designed to facilitate the adjustment of newly arrived immigrant teens. The aim of the program is to make it easier for adolescents to adjust to their new environment through creative group work around identity issues. The program also seeks to improve intergroup relations in multiethnic schools. The workshops are inspired both from playback theater and from Boal’s form theater which emphasizes the collective transformation of the singular experience. The qualitative assessment of the program effects on the adolescents suggests that the workshops constitute a safe space of expression, in which the team and the ritual nature of the play hold the participants. The workshops facilitate the representation of the multiplicity of values in the adolescent world and invite them to reconsider the way in which they interact, with their environment, without splitting between “us” and “them,” but rather creating solidarities around issues of social justice. The workshops also address the life transformation associated both with adolescence and migration and help the elaboration of the losses linked to the migratory journey and the construction of a hybrid identity.La migración en la adolescencia es particularmente delicada a causa de la carga conjunta que representa en esta etapa de la vida la integración de las múltiples pérdidas asociadas a la migración y la adaptación a un estatus de joven adulto. El programa de talleres de expresión teatral busca facilitar la adaptación de los adolescentes inmigrantes y refugiados a su nuevo entorno, a partir de un trabajo creativo relacionado con las cuestiones de identidad ligadas a la migración y a un estatus de minoría. Estos talleres conjugan un enfoque inspirado del teatro playback, que permite una puesta en escena de una experiencia personal, y el teatro forum de Boal, que pone el acento en la transformación colectiva de la experiencia. Los resultados de una evaluación cualitativa de los talleres de expresión teatral sugieren que éstos constituyen un lugar de expresión en el que los participantes se sienten seguros y apoyados por el equipo, así como por el carácter ritual de la representación teatral. Los talleres permiten representar la multiplicidad de los valores y referencias internas y externas del adolescente, y renegociarlos sin crear una dicotomía entre el “ellos” y “nosotros” al tratar cuestiones de justicia social que se plantean a la colectividad. Favorecen también la elaboración de las transiciones de la adolescencia al permitir la evocación de las pérdidas de la migración y el paso hacia una identidad híbrida.A imigração na adolescência é especialmente delicada, por causa do fardo conjugado que representa, neste ponto da vida, a integração das múltiplas perdas associadas à imigração e à adaptação ao estatuto de jovem adulto. O programa de ateliês de expressão teatral visa facilitar a adaptação dos adolescentes imigrantes e refugiados ao seu novo ambiente, a partir de um trabalho criativo a respeito das preocupações identitárias relacionadas à imigração e a um estatuto de minoria. Estes ateliês conjugam uma abordagem inspirada no teatro playback, que permite uma representação da vivência pessoal, e no teatro fórum de Boal, que ressalta a transformação coletiva da experiência. Os resultados de uma avaliação qualitativa dos ateliês de expressão teatral sugerem que estes continuam sendo um lugar de expressão onde os participantes sentem-se em segurança e apoiados pela equipe e pelo caráter ritual da representação teatral. Os ateliês permitem representar a multiplicidade dos valores e das referências internas e externas do adolescente e renegociá-los sem dicotomizar o “eles” e o “nós”, falando sobre questões de justiça social que são colocadas à coletividade. Os ateliês favorecem também a elaboração das transições da adolescência permitindo a evocação das perdas da imigração e a passagem para uma identidade híbrida

Regards sur les paradigmes féministes en recherche

Huit spécialistes ont accepté de répondre à trois questions sur l’émergence, la variété et l’avenir des paradigmes féministes en recherche. Ces personnes viennent d’universités différentes, de disciplines différentes et font aussi partie de générations différentes.Cette discussion n’a pas vraiment eu lieu, et c’est pourquoi elle est qualifiée de « virtuelle ». Toutefois, un échange a pu être constitué avec les réponses reçues. Il témoigne d’opinions contrastées, allant de l’optimisme au pessimisme, au sujet de l’influence des paradigmes féministes sur l’ensemble de la recherche universitaire.Eight professors were invited to answer three questions on the apparition, the variety and the future of feminist paradigms in research. They come from different universities, different disciplines and different generations. This discussion is called "virtual", because the participants have never met. The dialogue presented has been fabricated with the answers received. It reveals contrasted opinions, from optimism to pessimism, about the influence of feminist paradigms on the whole of learned research

Looking inside the black box : a theory-based process evaluation alongside a randomised controlled trial of printed educational materials (the Ontario printed educational message, OPEM) to improve referral and prescribing practices in primary care in Ontario, Canada

Background: Randomised controlled trials of implementation strategies tell us whether (or not) an intervention results in changes in professional behaviour but little about the causal mechanisms that produce any change. Theory-based process evaluations collect data on theoretical constructs alongside randomised trials to explore possible causal mechanisms and effect modifiers. This is similar to measuring intermediate endpoints in clinical trials to further understand the biological basis of any observed effects (for example, measuring lipid profiles alongside trials of lipid lowering drugs where the primary endpoint could be reduction in vascular related deaths). This study protocol describes a theory-based process evaluation alongside the Ontario Printed Educational Message (OPEM) trial. We hypothesize that the OPEM interventions are most likely to operate through changes in physicians' behavioural intentions due to improved attitudes or subjective norms with little or no change in perceived behavioural control. We will test this hypothesis using a well-validated social cognition model, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) that incorporates these constructs. Methods/design: We will develop theory-based surveys using standard methods based upon the TPB for the second and third replications, and survey a subsample of Ontario family physicians from each arm of the trial two months before and six months after the dissemination of the index edition of informed, the evidence based newsletter used for the interventions. In the third replication, our study will converge with the "TRY-ME" protocol (a second study conducted alongside the OPEM trial), in which the content of educational messages was constructed using both standard methods and methods informed by psychological theory. We will modify Dillman's total design method to maximise response rates. Preliminary analyses will initially assess the internal reliability of the measures and use regression to explore the relationships between predictor and dependent variable (intention to advise diabetic patients to have annual retinopathy screening and to prescribe thiazide diuretics for first line treatment of uncomplicated hypertension). We will then compare groups using methods appropriate for comparing independent samples to determine whether there have been changes in the predicted constructs (attitudes, subjective norms, or intentions) across the study groups as hypothesised, and will assess the convergence between the process evaluation results and the main trial results.The OPEM trial and OPEM process evaluation are funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR). The OPEM process evaluation study was developed as part of the CIHR funded interdisciplinary capacity enhancement team KT-ICEBeRG. Gaston Godin, Jeremy Grimshaw and France Légaré hold Canada Research Chairs. Louise Lemyre holds an R.S. McLaughlin Research Chair

Cell-free (RNA) and cell-associated (DNA) HIV-1 and postnatal transmission through breastfeeding

&lt;p&gt;Introduction - Transmission through breastfeeding remains important for mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) in resource-limited settings. We quantify the relationship between cell-free (RNA) and cell-associated (DNA) shedding of HIV-1 virus in breastmilk and the risk of postnatal HIV-1 transmission in the first 6 months postpartum.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Materials and Methods - Thirty-six HIV-positive mothers who transmitted HIV-1 by breastfeeding were matched to 36 non-transmitting HIV-1 infected mothers in a case-control study nested in a cohort of HIV-infected women. RNA and DNA were quantified in the same breastmilk sample taken at 6 weeks and 6 months. Cox regression analysis assessed the association between cell-free and cell-associated virus levels and risk of postnatal HIV-1 transmission.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Results - There were higher median levels of cell-free than cell-associated HIV-1 virus (per ml) in breastmilk at 6 weeks and 6 months. Multivariably, adjusting for antenatal CD4 count and maternal plasma viral load, at 6 weeks, each 10-fold increase in cell-free or cell-associated levels (per ml) was significantly associated with HIV-1 transmission but stronger for cell-associated than cell-free levels [2.47 (95% CI 1.33–4.59) vs. aHR 1.52 (95% CI, 1.17–1.96), respectively]. At 6 months, cell-free and cell-associated levels (per ml) in breastmilk remained significantly associated with HIV-1 transmission but was stronger for cell-free than cell-associated levels [aHR 2.53 (95% CI 1.64–3.92) vs. 1.73 (95% CI 0.94–3.19), respectively].&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Conclusions - The findings suggest that cell-associated virus level (per ml) is more important for early postpartum HIV-1 transmission (at 6 weeks) than cell-free virus. As cell-associated virus levels have been consistently detected in breastmilk despite antiretroviral therapy, this highlights a potential challenge for resource-limited settings to achieve the UNAIDS goal for 2015 of eliminating vertical transmission. More studies would further knowledge on mechanisms of HIV-1 transmission and help develop more effective drugs during lactation.&lt;/p&gt

The cellular modifier MOAG-4/SERF drives amyloid formation through charge complementation.

While aggregation-prone proteins are known to accelerate aging and cause age-related diseases, the cellular mechanisms that drive their cytotoxicity remain unresolved. The orthologous proteins MOAG-4, SERF1A, and SERF2 have recently been identified as cellular modifiers of such proteotoxicity. Using a peptide array screening approach on human amyloidogenic proteins, we found that SERF2 interacted with protein segments enriched in negatively charged and hydrophobic, aromatic amino acids. The absence of such segments, or the neutralization of the positive charge in SERF2, prevented these interactions and abolished the amyloid-promoting activity of SERF2. In protein aggregation models in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, protein aggregation and toxicity were suppressed by mutating the endogenous locus of MOAG-4 to neutralize charge. Our data indicate that MOAG-4 and SERF2 drive protein aggregation and toxicity by interactions with negatively charged segments in aggregation-prone proteins. Such charge interactions might accelerate primary nucleation of amyloid by initiating structural changes and by decreasing colloidal stability. Our study points at charge interactions between cellular modifiers and amyloidogenic proteins as potential targets for interventions to reduce age-related protein toxicity

Failed immune responses across multiple pathologies share pan-tumor and circulating lymphocytic targets

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are widely associated with positive outcomes, yet carry key indicators of a systemic failed immune response against unresolved cancer. Cancer immunotherapies can reverse their tolerance phenotypes while preserving tumor reactivity and neoantigen specificity shared with circulating immune cells. We performed comprehensive transcriptomic analyses to identify gene signatures common to circulating and TILs in the context of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Modulated genes also associated with disease outcome were validated in other cancer types. Through comprehensive bioinformatics analyses, we identified practical diagnostic markers and actionable targets of the failed immune response. On circulating lymphocytes, 3 genes (LEF1, FASLG, and MMP9) could efficiently stratify patients from healthy control donors. From their associations with resistance to cancer immunotherapies and microbial infections, we uncovered not only pan-cancer, but pan-pathology, failed immune response profiles. A prominent lymphocytic matrix metallopeptidase cell migration pathway is central to a panoply of diseases and tumor immunogenicity, correlates with multi-cancer recurrence, and identifies a feasible noninvasive approach to pan-pathology diagnoses. The differentially expressed genes we have identified warrant future investigation into the development of their potential in noninvasive precision diagnostics and precision pan-disease immunotherapeutics. - 2019, American Society for Clinical Investigation.We thank all study participants and patients; The Cancer Genome Atlas; Mathieu Latour and Roula Albadine and supporting staff of the CHUM pathology department; Manon de Ladurantaye and Anne-Marie Mes-Masson from the CRCHUM for RNA quality profiling, Geneviève Cormier and Fred Saad from the CRCHUM for drawing blood from control donors; Gilles Corbeil of the CRCHUM genomics department for RNA quality testing and microarray profiling; Francois Harvey of the CRCHUM bioinformatics department; Peter Graf and Patrick Sabourin from Affymetrix for providing reagents and technical assistance; Zeeshan Farroq and Ofir Goldberger from Fluidigm; Erika Diaz from StemCell; Andrew Mouland from McGill University; Simon Turcotte from University of Montreal; and Sascha Ring from Biostars for their advice. This work was partially performed at the Institut du Cancer de Montréal CRCHUM and University of Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This work was supported by a Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute grant (CCSRI) (702036, to RL and IJ) and a Biomedical Research Grant from the Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC130019 to RL). RL is supported by the Quebec Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapy Network—ThéCell (a thematic network supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec–Santé [FRQS]), the FRQS, and the Immunotherapy Network (iTNT) from the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI), A. Monette is supported by Mitacs, Merck, l’Institut du cancer de Montréal (ICM), the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. NAB is supported by the FRQS post-doctoral award and Qatar University. JBL is supported by l’Institut du Cancer de Montréal. JPR holds the Louis Lowenstein Chair, McGill University. DEK is supported by an FRQS Research Scholar Award (grant 31035), CIHR 377124, NHLBI RO1-HL-092565, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) (grant 31756). IJ and computational analysis were supported by the Canada Research Chair Program (CRC) (grant 225404), Ontario Research Fund (grant 34876), the Natural Sciences Research Council (NSERC) (grant 203475), the CFI (grants 203373 and 30865), the Krembil Foundation, and IBM.Scopu