93 research outputs found
Modernizing Mount Royal Park : MontrĂ©alâs Jungle in the 1950s
Durant les annĂ©es 1950, les autoritĂ©s municipales, sous la pression du dĂ©partement de la police, ont demandĂ© le dĂ©boisement dâune section du parc du Mont-Royal. Cette section, communĂ©ment appelĂ©e la « Jungle » et principalement composĂ©e de broussailles, de buissons et dâarbres, Ă©tait frĂ©quentĂ©e par une clientĂšle considĂ©rĂ©e comme indĂ©sirable. Cette derniĂšre comprenait, essentiellement, des alcooliques, des voyous, des pervers, et, surtout, des homosexuels. Leur Ă©radication sâest alors dĂ©ployĂ©e selon un plan en trois Ă©tapes qui avait pour objectif de simplifier les techniques de surveillance utilisĂ©es par le dĂ©partement de la police. Dâabord, une augmentation de lâĂ©clairage, puis, le dĂ©boisement de la « Jungle », et, finalement, la construction dâune route, aujourdâhui connue sous le nom de Camillien-Houde. Le parc devenait ainsi plus accessible et plus sĂ©curitaire. Les coupes, que lâon a appelĂ©es les « coupes de la moralité », ont eu un effet considĂ©rable sur lâenvironnement et la composition Ă©cologique du parc, donnant, entre autres, aux MontrĂ©alais, lâimpression que le parc Ă©tait devenu chauve (ce qui lui confĂ©ra dâailleurs le surnom de Mont Chauve).
Les transformations du parc du Mont-Royal nâĂ©taient cependant pas limitĂ©es Ă sa Jungle. En fait, des modifications furent aussi mises en application dans dâautres sections considĂ©rĂ©es comme sous-dĂ©veloppĂ©es. La mĂ©tamorphose du parc et de sa « Jungle » Ă©tait un acte de dĂ©veloppement caractĂ©ristique de lâĂšre moderniste de la planification du MontrĂ©al dâaprĂšs-guerre. La re-planification du parc du Mont-Royal tĂ©moigne ainsi dâune volontĂ© sans bornes des autoritĂ©s dâinstaurer la moralitĂ© et la modernitĂ© dans la ville, volontĂ© qui aura pour consĂ©quence dâaltĂ©rer la composition Ă©cologique du parc. Câest ce qui sera Ă lâorigine dâune campagne nommĂ©e « Save-the-Mountain Movement », qui a cherchĂ© Ă empĂȘcher la modernisation de lâespace et militĂ© pour la rĂ©habilitation du parc en tant que boisĂ© paisible.During the 1950s, the municipal authorities, under pressure from the Police Department, called for the clearing of a section of Mount Royal Parkâthe so-called âJungleâ (composed mainly of undergrowth, bushes, and trees)âwhere a community of undesirable Park patrons had established themselves. This cohort of undesirables was understood as being composed mainly of alcoholics, thugs, perverts and most importantly homosexuals. Their eradication was undertaken through a threefold plan which would simplify the techniques of surveillance used by the Police Department; this would be achieved through (1) increased lighting, (2) clearing the Jungle, (3) construction of a roadway, now known as the Camillien-Houde roadway, thus making the Park more accessible and safe. The cuts, known as the Morality Cuts, had a lasting effect on the environmental and ecological composition of the Park, with the immediate repercussion of âbaldingâ the Park, thereby giving it the nickname of Mount Baldy.
Yet Mount Royal Parkâs transformation was not limited to its Jungle. In fact, the transformation was undertaken in a number of the Parkâs sections which were deemed undeveloped. The development Mount Royal Park and of its Jungle were therefore acts of development, under the umbrella of MontrĂ©alâs modernist postwar planning. Indeed, the re-planning of Mount Royal Park testifies to the unbounded will of the authorities to instill morality and modernity within the city, going to lengths that ultimately altered the ecological composition of the Park. This would in the end lead to an all out campaign named the Save-the-Mountain Movement, which sought to end the modernist encroachment of this space and rehabilitate the Park as a wooded and tranquil environment
Template Based MDE
National audienceIn MDE, design of systems can be improved and accelerated thanks to reusable models which are made available in model repositories or libraries. This paper focuses on the construction and exploitation of " oâ”-the-shelf " model template bases. Model templates are parameterized models which are adaptable to various application contexts. Due to their parameterization, model templates have their own modeling space. In this paper, we present the main construction and composition operations that underlie this space while presenting its dedicated engineering processes and actors. A software environment is shown to illustrate template based engineering in Eclipse
How a plantar pressure-based, tongue-placed tactile biofeedback modifies postural control mechanisms during quiet standing
The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of a plantar
pressure-based, tongue-placed tactile biofeedback on postural control
mechanisms during quiet standing. To this aim, sixteen young healthy adults
were asked to stand as immobile as possible with their eyes closed in two
conditions of No-biofeedback and Biofeedback. Centre of foot pressure (CoP)
displacements, recorded using a force platform, were used to compute the
horizontal displacements of the vertical projection the centre of gravity
(CoGh) and those of the difference between the CoP and the vertical projection
of the CoG (CoP-CoGv). Altogether, the present findings suggest that the main
way the plantar pressure-based, tongue-placed tactile biofeedback improves
postural control during quiet standing is via both a reduction of the
correction thresholds and an increased efficiency of the corrective mechanism
involving the CoGh displacements
Human telomerase acts as a hTR-independent reverse transcriptase in mitochondria.
Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is localized to mitochondria, as well as the nucleus, but details about its biology and function in the organelle remain largely unknown. Here we show, using multiple approaches, that mammalian TERT is mitochondrial, co-purifying with mitochondrial nucleoids and tRNAs. We demonstrate the canonical nuclear RNA [human telomerase RNA (hTR)] is not present in human mitochondria and not required for the mitochondrial effects of telomerase, which nevertheless rely on reverse transcriptase (RT) activity. Using RNA immunoprecipitations from whole cell and in organello, we show that hTERT binds various mitochondrial RNAs, suggesting that RT activity in the organelle is reconstituted with mitochondrial RNAs. In support of this conclusion, TERT drives first strand cDNA synthesis in vitro in the absence of hTR. Finally, we demonstrate that absence of hTERT specifically in mitochondria with maintenance of its nuclear function negatively impacts the organelle. Our data indicate that mitochondrial hTERT works as a hTR-independent reverse transcriptase, and highlight that nuclear and mitochondrial telomerases have different cellular functions. The implications of these findings to both the mitochondrial and telomerase fields are discussed
Physical and functional interaction between SET1/COMPASS complex component CFP-1 and a Sin3S HDAC complex in C. elegans.
The CFP1 CXXC zinc finger protein targets the SET1/COMPASS complex to non-methylated CpG rich promoters to implement tri-methylation of histone H3 Lys4 (H3K4me3). Although H3K4me3 is widely associated with gene expression, the effects of CFP1 loss vary, suggesting additional chromatin factors contribute to context dependent effects. Using a proteomics approach, we identified CFP1 associated proteins and an unexpected direct link between Caenorhabditis elegans CFP-1 and an Rpd3/Sin3 small (SIN3S) histone deacetylase complex. Supporting a functional connection, we find that mutants of COMPASS and SIN3 complex components genetically interact and have similar phenotypic defects including misregulation of common genes. CFP-1 directly binds SIN-3 through a region including the conserved PAH1 domain and recruits SIN-3 and the HDA-1/HDAC subunit to H3K4me3 enriched promoters. Our results reveal a novel role for CFP-1 in mediating interaction between SET1/COMPASS and a Sin3S HDAC complex at promoters
Long-term efficacy and safety of subcutaneous pasireotide in acromegaly:results from an open-ended, multicenter, Phase II extension study
Pasireotide has a broader somatostatin receptor binding profile than other somatostatin analogues. A 16-week, Phase II trial showed that pasireotide may be an effective treatment for acromegaly. An extension to this trial assessed the long-term efficacy and safety of pasireotide. This study was an open-label, single-arm, open-ended extension study (primary efficacy and safety evaluated at month 6). Patients could enter the extension if they achieved biochemical control (GH †2.5 ÎŒg/L and normal IGF-1) or showed clinically relevant improvements during the core study. Thirty of the 60 patients who received pasireotide (200-900 ÎŒg bid) in the core study entered the extension. At extension month 6, of the 26 evaluable patients, six were biochemically controlled, of whom five had achieved control during the core study. Normal IGF-1 was achieved by 13/26 patients and GH †2.5 ÎŒg/L by 12/26 at month 6. Nine patients received pasireotide for â„24 months in the extension; three who were biochemically controlled at month 24 had achieved control during the core study. Of 29 patients with MRI data, nine had significant (â„20 %) tumor volume reduction during the core study; an additional eight had significant reduction during the extension. The most common adverse events were transient gastrointestinal disturbances; hyperglycemia-related events occurred in 14 patients. Twenty patients had fasting plasma glucose shifted to a higher category during the extension. However, last available glucose measurements were normal for 17 patients. Pasireotide has the potential to be an effective, long-term medical treatment for acromegaly, providing sustained biochemical control and significant reductions in tumor volume
Transcription and mRNA export machineries SAGA and TREX-2 maintain monoubiquitinated H2B balance required for DNA repair
DNA repair is critical to maintaining genome integrity, and its dysfunction can cause accumulation of unresolved damage that leads to genomic instability. The SptâAdaâGcn5 acetyltransferase (SAGA) coactivator complex and the nuclear poreâassociated transcription and export complex 2 (TREX-2) couple transcription with mRNA export. In this study, we identify a novel interplay between human TREX-2 and the deubiquitination module (DUBm) of SAGA required for genome stability. We find that the scaffold subunit of TREX-2, GANP, positively regulates DNA repair through homologous recombination (HR). In contrast, DUBm adaptor subunits ENY2 and ATXNL3 are required to limit unscheduled HR. These opposite roles are achieved through monoubiquitinated histone H2B (H2Bub1). Interestingly, the activity of the DUBm of SAGA on H2Bub1 is dependent on the integrity of the TREX-2 complex. Thus, we describe the existence of a functional interaction between human TREX-2 and SAGA DUBm that is key to maintaining the H2B/HB2ub1 balance needed for efficient repair and HR
Combined dynamics of mercury and terrigenous organic matter following impoundment of Churchill Falls Hydroelectric Reservoir, Labrador
Sediments from two recently (40 years) flooded lakes (Gabbro lake and Sandgirt lake) and an unflooded lake (Atikonak lake) were sampled to investigate the effects of reservoir impoundment on mercury (Hg) and terrigenous organic matter (TOM) loading in the Churchill Falls Hydroelectric complex in Labrador, Canada. Lignin biomarkers in TOM, which exclusively derive from terrestrial vegetation, were used as biomarkers for the presence and source origin of TOMâand for Hg due to their close associationsâin sediments. In the two flooded Gabbro and Sandgirt lakes, we observed drastic increases in total mercury concentrations, T-[Hg], in sediments, which temporally coincided with the time of reservoir impoundment as assessed by 210Pb age dating. In the natural Atikonak lake sediments, on the other hand, T-[Hg] showed no such step-increase but gradually and slowly increased until present. T-[Hg] increases in lake sediments after flooding were also associated with a change in the nature of TOM: biomarker signatures changed to typical signatures of TOM from vegetated terrestrial landscape surrounding the lakes, and indicate a change to TOM that was much less degraded and typical of forest soil organic horizons. We conclude that T-[Hg] increase in the sediments of the two flooded reservoirs was the result of flooding of surrounding forests, whereby mainly surface organic horizons and upper soil horizons were prone to erosion and subsequent re-sedimentation in the reservoirs. The fact that T-[Hg] was still enriched 40 years after reservoir impoundment indicates prolonged response time of lake Hg and sediment loadings after reservoir impoundments
A la recherche dâune dĂ©finition de la notion dâ 'âĂ©thique publiqueââ
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