Troisième journée annuelle de la recherche …...Heena Mehta Stagiaire postdoctorale Université Laval Koassi D’Almeida Agent de recherche et de planification Mirjam Marjolein

2 Troisième journée annuelle de la recherche postdoctorale – 21 mars 2016

GROUPES DE TRAVAIL

École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)

Sylvain G. Cloutier Professeur de génie électrique Emmanuelle Tanguy Conseillère à la recherche Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)

Joanie Lavoie Responsable des services aux étudiants Jean-Philippe Drolet Stagiaire postdoctoral Université Concordia

Cynthia Raso Officer, Postdoctoral Studies and Graduate Enrollment Evan Light Stagiaire Postdoctoral Université de Montréal

Richard Patry Vice-doyen exécutif et secrétaire de la FESP Naoual Samik Coordonnatrice – international et stages postdoctoraux Élodie Berdin Coordonnatrice – 3e Journée annuelle de la recherche postdoctorale Caroline Renaud Conseillère en communication Stéphane Boivin Responsable des dossiers numériques Heena Mehta Stagiaire postdoctorale Université Laval

Koassi D’Almeida Agent de recherche et de planification Mirjam Marjolein Garvelink Stagiaire postdoctorale Université McGill

David Syncox Graduate Education Officer Annie Gilbert Postdoctoral Fellow Chris Corkery Postdoctoral Fellow Chloé Garcia Postdoctoral Fellow


Au cœur des préoccupations de la société L’INRS, une université d’excellence en recherche L’INRS est une université de recherche et de formation aux 2e et 3e cycles, présente au cœur d’enjeux de société. Avec ses 150 professeurs-chercheurs, ses 700 étudiants-chercheurs et une centaine de stagiaires postdoctoraux, ses infrastructures scientifiques de haut calibre et des partenaires de tous horizons, l’INRS figure en tête de liste des universités canadiennes les plus performantes en recherche. L’INRS compte quatre centres de recherche universitaires répartis sur le territoire québécois. Chaque centre a structuré ses activités autour d’axes et de thématiques de recherche multidisciplinaires :

- le Centre Eau Terre Environnement (Québec) œuvre à la protection, à la conservation et à la valorisation des ressources hydriques et terrestres; - le Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications (Varennes et Montréal) crée des matériaux, des technologies et les communications pour les secteurs du transport, de l’aérospatial, de l’énergie, de l’instrumentation ultrarapide et de l’imagerie biomédicale; - le Centre INRS–Institut Armand-Frappier Laval) mène des recherches en en vue d’améliorer la santé humaine, animale et environnementale; - le Centre Urbanisation Culture Société (Montréal et Québec) enrichit les connaissances sur les réalités sociales et culturelles et aborde les enjeux touchant le territoire habité. Reconnues pour leurs expertises pointues, ses équipes de recherche contribuent à l’innovation scientifique, technologique et sociale, en réalisant des percées qui ont des retombées bénéfiques pour la société, principalement dans les domaines suivants : nanobiotechnologies, énergies durables et ressources naturelles, écotoxicologie et toxicologie environnementale, villes et territoires en réseau. Fort d’une expertise qui rassemble les sciences des matériaux, les sciences naturelles, les sciences biomédicales et les sciences sociales, l’INRS contribue aussi à la formation d’une relève scientifique hautement qualifiée par le biais de ses 26 programmes de cycles supérieurs.



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For more information:

[email protected] | Tel: 514-398-6648 www.mcgill.ca/skillsets/calendar

SKILLSETS is a suite of interdisciplinary professional development offerings open to Graduate Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows.

Upcoming 2016 workshops open to Postdocs:

Disability, Access, & Universal Design – March 31, 9:30 a.m to 12:00 p.m. Financial Skills for the Real World Series

• Introduction to Investing – March 31, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. • Finance basics – March 29, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. • Investing & Taxation - April 5, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. • Housing – April 7, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Research Ethics Workshop Series

• Authorship – April 18, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. • Data Sharing Policy – May 16, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.


21 mars 2016 – March 21, 2016

Amphithéâtre S1-151 et Agora Pavillon Jean-Coutu

2940 Chemin Polytechnique Université de Montréal


Table des matières

Programme de la journée ................................................................................................ 11

Conférence d’ouverture ................................................................................................... 12

Représentant École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) ..................................................... 13

Représentant Institut National de la recherche scientifique (INRS) ............................... 13

Représentante Concordia ................................................................................................ 14

Représentantes Université de Montréal ......................................................................... 14

Représentante Université Laval ....................................................................................... 15

Représentante Université McGill ..................................................................................... 16

Résumé conférencier – École de technologie supérieure (ETS) ...................................... 18

Résumé conférencier – Université Concordia ................................................................. 19

Résumé conférencière – Université de Montréal............................................................ 21

Résumé conférencière – Université Laval........................................................................ 24

Résumé conférencière – Université McGill ..................................................................... 25

Résumés des affiches ....................................................................................................... 28


Programme de la journée

13 h à 13 h 45 Inscription et accueil

13 h 45 Mot de bienvenue, Dre Marie-Josée Hébert, vice-rectrice à la recherche, à la découverte, à la création et à l'innovation, Université de Montréal

14 h à 15 h Conférence d’ouverture par Dre Maryse Lassonde, directrice scientifique du Fonds de recherche québécois Nature et technologies

15 h à 16 h Présentations orales de cinq stagiaires postdoctoraux

Navigation précise par GPS en milieu urbain Jérôme Leclère, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)

Mobile 5G, networks, the merging of several information technologies: Cloud computing, virtualization, big data, analytics, machine type communication, and the internet of things.

Mama Nsangou Mouchili, Université Concordia, Ericsson Canada

Analyzing, measuring and visualizing the success of interdisciplinarity Stefanie Haustein, Université de Montréal

The value chain of offshore wind energy: The opportunities and challenges Samira Keivanpour, Université Laval

The hypothalamus as a mediator of disrupted sexual dimorphisms in children exposed to prenatal maternal stress: Project Ice Storm

Sherri Lee Jones, McGill University, Douglas Institute Research Centre 16 h à 17 h Atelier sur le thème de la recherche interdisciplinaire et interinstitutionnelle

17 h à 18 h Communications affichées et vins et fromages


Conférence d’ouverture

Dre Maryse Lassonde, directrice scientifique et membre du conseil d'administration du Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT)

Dre Maryse Lassonde est depuis janvier 2012 la directrice scientifique du Fonds de recherche du Québec Nature et Technologies (FRQNT). Elle a été professeure d’abord à l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (1977-1988) puis à l'Université de Montréal (1988-2012). Mme Lassonde a obtenu un B.Sc. en psychologie à l'Université de Montréal et un Ph.D. en neuropsychologie à l'Université Stanford (Californie) en 1977. Elle a édité 7 livres et a rédigé plus de 300 articles et chapitres scientifiques. Elle a reçu plusieurs honneurs et prix. Ainsi, elle est fellow de la Société canadienne de Psychologie, de l'Académie canadienne des sciences de la santé et de la Société Royale du Canada. Elle est officière de l’Ordre du Canada et chevalière de l'Ordre national du Québec, dont elle a présidé le Conseil de 2008 à 2010. Elle a également présidé l’ACFAS (1993-1994) et en est membre émérite. Enfin, elle a détenu une chaire senior de recherche du Canada du Fonds CRSNG (2001-2013) et est présidente de la Société Royale du Canada.

Dre Maryse Lassonde


Représentant École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)

Dr Louis Rivest, directeur de l’École doctorale et postdoctorale

Représentant Institut National de la recherche scientifique (INRS)

M. Philippe-Edwin Bélanger, directeur du Service des études supérieures et postdoctorales

Dr Louis Rivest

Le professeur Rivest s'intéresse aux modèles, méthodes, outils et processus interpellés par le développement de produits. Ses expertisent concernent donc la Conception assistée par ordinateur (CAO), notamment la comparaison de modèles géométriques, ainsi que la préparation et l’exploitation des maquettes numériques sur l’ensemble du cycle de vie des produits. Il s’intéresse aussi à l’évolution des pratiques industrielles, telle que l’élimination des dessins d’ingénierie traditionnels, et au PLM (Product Lifecycle Management). Les projets menés par le professeur Rivest impliquent des donneurs d’ordres de l’aéronautique de même que des PME québécoises.

M. Philippe-Edwin Bélanger

Philippe-Edwin Bélanger est directeur du Service des études supérieures et postdoctorales de l’INRS depuis 2012. Auparavant, il a été responsable des programmes de bourses et de partenariats France-Québec du Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies pendant dix ans. Très engagé dans le milieu de la recherche et de la formation universitaire, il est l’actuel président de l’Association des doyens des études supérieures au Québec (ADÉSAQ).


Représentante Concordia

Dr. Paula Wood-Adams, Dean of Graduate Studies

Représentantes Université de Montréal

Dre Marie-Josée Hébert, vice-rectrice à la recherche, à la découverte, à la création et à l'innovation

Dr. Paula Wood-Adams

Dr. Paula Wood-Adams, a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was appointed Dean of Graduate Studies of Concordia University in September 2013. While widely recognized for her academic achievements, she is also known as a strong leader, supervising over 25 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. As an administrator, she has provided strategic and operational direction to various functions of graduate studies at Concordia, focusing her attention mainly on new curriculum, professional development and program support, and recruiting new, promising, graduate students. She has been an active member of provincial and federal funding agency peer-review committees including, the National Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ). She has also contributed numerous articles to scientific journals on her research focus: viscoelasticity, polymer science and rheology, and has received over $2.5M in grants to support her research. Dr Wood-Adams also is a member of the board of directors of the Sauvé Foundation.

Dre Marie-Josée Hébert est professeure titulaire à la Faculté de Médecine à l’Université de Montréal, chercheure au Centre de Recherche du CHUM et néphrologue au CHUM. Elle est titulaire de la Chaire Shire en transplantation et régénération rénales de l’Université de Montréal. Activement impliquée en recherche transdisciplinaire dans le domaine de la transplantation, Dre Hébert est la co-directrice du Programme National de Recherche en Transplantation du Canada (PNRTC). Depuis novembre 2015, Dre Hébert occupe les fonctions de vice-rectrice à la recherche, à la découverte, à la création et à l’innovation à l’Université de Montréal. À ce titre, elle coordonne l'ensemble des activités de recherche de l'Université de Montréal aux niveaux local, national et international.

Dre Marie-Josée Hébert


http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjEt5GY45XLAhUDcT4KHX4-BU8QjRwIBw&url=http://philo.umontreal.ca/departement/nouvelles/une-nouvelle/news/marie-josee-hebert-nouvelle-vice-rectrice-a-la-re-34145/&psig=AFQjCNEv8qBvZ5PTsLnlMSquvPmFhteKvg&ust=1456587971594454

Dre Michèle Brochu, vice-rectrice adjointe aux études supérieures et administratrice exerçant les fonctions de doyenne à la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales

Représentante Université Laval

Dre Josée Bastien, doyenne de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales

Titulaire d’un baccalauréat en biochimie et d’un doctorat en physiologie (endocrinologie) de l’Université Laval, Michèle Brochu est entrée à l’Université de Montréal en 1990 à titre de chercheure adjointe puis de professeur titulaire en 2004 au Département d’obstétrique-gynécologie de la Faculté de médecine. En 2011, elle est devenu directrice et professeure titulaire au Département de physiologie moléculaire et intégrative. Elle a participé à différentes instances universitaires telles que la Commission des études, l’Assemblée Universitaire et le Conseil de l’Université. Récipiendaire de subventions de recherche, auteure ou co-auteure de dizaines d’articles scientifiques, elle a supervisé de nombreux étudiants aux cycles supérieurs. Conférencière appréciée, elle est reconnue pour ses travaux visant à mieux comprendre les conséquences de l’environnement fœtal sur la condition physiologique à l’âge adulte

La professeure Josée Bastien est doyenne de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales de l’Université Laval depuis juillet 2015. Elle est membre du Centre de recherche sur les infrastructures en béton. Elle a occupé les fonctions de directrice du Département de génie civil de 2002 à 2008, en plus d’avoir été membre du Conseil universitaire et du Conseil d’administration, ainsi que membre nommé du Comité exécutif de l’Université Laval. Elle a participé à des groupes de travail ministériels et a agi à titre d’évaluateur de programmes auprès du Bureau Canadien d’accréditation des programmes en ingénierie. Dre Josée Bastien

Dre Michèle Brochu


Représentante Université McGill

Dr. Josephine Nalbantoglu, Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Dr. Josephine Nalbantoglu

Professor Nalbantoglu started her term as Dean in 2015. She is the former Director of the Integrated Program in Neuroscience (2009-2015), Canada’s largest graduate neuroscience program. She is a member of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery with affiliations to the Montreal Neurological Institute (the Neuro). The major focus of her laboratory at the Neuro has been the study of normal and aberrant gene expression in the nervous system. Prof. Nalbantoglu’s team is working to understand the molecular basis of neuropathology as observed in neurodegenerative diseases, as well as to develop therapeutic approaches for muscular dystrophy and brain tumours.


http://www.mcgill.ca/ipn/ipn-graduate-neuroscience

https://www.mcgill.ca/brain/research-discovery/areas-exploration/mcgill-university-department-neurology-and-neurosurgery

http://www.mcgill.ca/neuro/neuro-brain-research-patient-care-and-training

CONFÉRENCIERS DES UNIVERSITÉS PARTENAIRES


Résumé conférencier – École de technologie supérieure (ETS)

Dr Jérôme Leclère, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS)

Navigation précise par GPS en milieu urbain

Si vous avez déjà utilisé un récepteur GPS en centre-ville, vous avez probablement remarqué que la précision laisse parfois à désirer. Et c’est un peu normal, car le GPS est un système basé sur la trilatération (détermination d’une position en mesurant des distances), et donc un récepteur GPS a besoin d’avoir une vue directe sur les satellites en orbite qui envoient un signal en permanence. Ainsi, sur les routes en dehors des villes, il n’y a pas beaucoup de problèmes, puisque le ciel est dégagé. Mais en centre-ville, les bâtiments causent beaucoup de problèmes. D’une part, nous voyons moins de satellites (par exemple seulement six ou quatre ou même deux au lieu d’une dizaine), ce qui va déjà réduire la précision voire nous empêcher de calculer notre position. D’autre part, les bâtiments provoquent de nombreuses réflexions. Il est alors possible de recevoir le signal d’un satellite qui n’est pas en vue directe via une ou plusieurs réflexions, mais le temps de trajet sera plus long, ce qui faussera nos calculs et donc notre position. Pour pallier à ces deux problèmes concrets, différentes approches et méthodes peuvent être exploitées. Au LASSENA, nous travaillons sur deux d’entre elles en particulier.

Tout d’abord, dans un futur proche (2020), en plus du GPS, il y aura trois autres constellations de satellites, transmettant de nouveaux signaux offrant de meilleures performances. Par conséquent, même dans une rue avec une petite portion du ciel visible, il y aura toujours suffisamment de satellites visibles pour déterminer sa position. Cependant, utiliser les différentes constellations et signaux demandera beaucoup plus de traitements au récepteur. Il faut donc développer des algorithmes efficaces qui tirent avantage de chaque signal tout en mutualisant les ressources. Au LASSENA, nous travaillons à trouver de tels algorithmes.

Une autre approche est la fusion d’information GPS avec des capteurs inertiels (accéléromètre et gyroscope). Avec de tels capteurs, il est possible de suivre les mouvements effectués, ils peuvent alors améliorer la précision, voire remplacer le GPS pendant une courte durée (lorsque l’on passe dans un tunnel par exemple). Cependant, les capteurs à faibles coûts sont très peu précis, et les utiliser dans cette optique est un véritable défi, défi qu’essaie de relever le LASSENA.

Dr Jérôme Leclère a effectué ses études dans le domaine de l’électronique et du traitement du signal. Après son passage à l’ENSEEIHT (prononcer N7), école d’ingénieur à Toulouse, en France, il a effectué son doctorat à l’EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Suisse, sur les systèmes de positionnement par satellites. Depuis juin 2015, il est chercheur postdoctorant à l’ÉTS, au laboratoire LASSENA, où il travaille toujours sur les systèmes de positionnement. Dr Jérôme Leclère


Résumé conférencier – Université Concordia

Dr Mama Nsangou Mouchili, Université Concordia, Ericsson Canada

Mobile 5G Networks, the Merging of Several Information Technologies: Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Big Data, Analytics, Machine Type Communication, and the Internet of Things From analogue (first generation, 1G) through to Long-Term Evolution (LTE) (fourth generation, 4G), each generation of mobile technology has been motivated by the need to meet a requirement identified between that technology and its predecessor. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) continues to develop standards for the world’s leading mobile broadband technologies: High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) and LTE/LTE-Advanced. At the same time, discussion is well advanced on network requirements for the future and recommendations for the next generation (5G) technologies. The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance defines 5G as an end-to-end ecosystem to enable a fully mobile and connected society, that empowers value creation towards customers and partners, through existing and emerging use cases, delivered with consistent experience, and enabled by sustainable business models. There are several trends that are converging on a path to exhaust the capabilities of existing (4G) wireless networks:

- Explosive growth of data traffic - Massive increase in the number of interconnected devices - Continuous emergence of new services and applications scenarios.

Dr Mama Nsangou Mouchili a reçu le baccalauréat en sciences, le master professionnel et le doctorat à l'Université de l'Amitié des peuples de Moscou, Fédération de Russie, en 2006, 2008 et 2012 respectivement. Il est présentement stagiaire postdoctoral à l'Université Concordia, financé conjointement par Mitacs et Ericsson. Ses domaines de recherche sont les télécommunications mobiles, en particulier l’Architecture des Réseaux xG (1G-5G) et la modélisation de la performance des systèmes cellulaires. Depuis 2014, il travaille sur des projets innovants tels que la virtualisation du système IP Multimédia IMS (IP Multimedia Subsytem) dans un environnement infonuagique basé sur la solution OpenStack, ainsi que l’Analytique et la planification de la capacité des Réseaux des Données IoT (Internet of Things).

Dr Mama Nsangou Mouchili


Mobile data traffic will continue to rapidly grow in the coming years, driven mainly by video streaming and social networking. The evolution of these 4G systems is of great importance and for this reason, many questions surround the next generation of wireless technology: What new features and enhancements will be introduced? We have explored 5G requirements to understand how they require the merging of several modern information technologies, such as Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Big Data, Analytics, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) or Machine Type Communication (MTC), and the Internet of Things (IoT). With the increased availability of mobile broadband, cellular connectivity has become a realistic option for MTC. Because connected MTC devices will soon outnumber human-centric communication devices, this will lead to the possibility to implement approaches, tools and processing methods for structured and unstructured Big Data derived from MTC networks. Hence, 5G network Infrastructure is based on the use of Cloud technologies, particularly a Cloud Radio Access Network using a Software Defined Radio infrastructure, and full virtualization of network functions, covering the control and management of Quality of Service, the service policy and prioritization of traffic. The MTC Big Data and analytics industry will grow a robust revenue segmentation for the five components that together enable analytics to be used in MTC services: data integration, data storage, core analytics, data presentation, and associated professional services.


Résumé conférencière – Université de Montréal

Dre Stefanie Haustein, Université de Montréal

Analyzing, measuring and visualizing the success of interdisciplinarity Interdisciplinary research is defined as the integration of data, methods and theories of distinct disciplines to create a common understanding of complex issues; it is expected to derive results greater than the sum of its disciplinary parts (Wagner et al., 2011). Interdisciplinary approaches are assumed to create more innovation and scientific breakthroughs and are crucial to great societal challenges such as climate change, health epidemics or world poverty (Yegros-Yegros, Rafols, & D’Este, 2015). Research policy makers and funding organizations thus promote interdisciplinarity. However, collaborations across disciplinary boundaries are challenging, as terminological, methodological and cultural barriers need to be (Nature, 2015). The question is thus whether these efforts are justified and interdisciplinary research is in fact more fruitful than disciplinary approaches. Depending on particular definitions and operationalization of interdisciplinarity and success, studies found conflicting evidence regarding the impact of interdisciplinary research (e.g., Larivière & Gingras, 2010; Rinia, van Leeuwen, & Van Raan, 2002; Uzzi, Mukherjee, Stringer, & Jones, 2013; Yegros-Yegros et al., 2015). This communication analyzes, measures and visualizes interdisciplinary research based on citation patterns, which reflect the knowledge flow between scientific disciplines. The cited references of 9.2 million journal articles citing papers from at least two subdisciplines were analyzed (Larivière, Haustein, & Börner, 2015). The majority of the co-cited interdisciplinary pairs led to above-average citation impact; that is, papers that cited references from two subdisciplines received more citations than expected in either of the disciplines. These so-called “win-win” relationships represent 70% of all co-cited interdisciplinary pairs; as few as 3% of all co-cited interdisciplinary combinations led to citation impact below world average in both disciplines. The remaining 27% exceeded the citing papers’ expected citations in one, but not the other, of the co-cited disciplines. When locating interdisciplinary combinations in the conceptual space of the UCSD map of science (Börner et al., 2012), papers citing references from distant subdisciplines obtained the highest relative

Dre Stefanie Haustein est chercheuse postdoctorale à la Chaire de recherche du Canada sur les transformations de la communication savante à l'Université de Montréal. Ses recherches se concentrent sur la bibliométrie et les «altmetrics» et sont appuyées par la Fondation Alfred P. Sloan. Elle est titulaire d’une maîtrise en histoire, linguistique américaine et littérature, et sciences de l’information et d’un doctorat en sciences de l’information de l’Université de Düsseldorf. Dre Stefanie Haustein


citation rates. For example, papers co-citing references from Thoracic Surgery and Air Quality received the highest citation impact (Figure 1, A4). This suggests that although challenging, interdisciplinary work is more successful and leads to fruitful results greater than the sum of its disciplinary parts.

Figure 1. UCSD map of science overlay of win-win (A1-A4) and lose-lose (B1-B4) interdisciplinary combinations.


References

Börner, K., Klavans, R., Patek, M., Zoss, A. M., Biberstine, J. R., Light, R. P., … Boyack, K. W. (2012). Design and Update of a Classification System: The UCSD Map of Science. PLoS ONE, 7(7), e39464. Larivière, V., & Gingras, Y. (2010). On the relationship between interdisciplinarity and scientific impact. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 61(1), 126–131. Larivière, V., Haustein, S., & Börner, K. (2015). Long-Distance Interdisciplinarity Leads to Higher Scientific Impact. PLoS ONE, 10(3), e0122565. Nature. (2015). Why interdisciplinary research matters. Nature, 525(7569), 305–305. Rinia, E. J., van Leeuwen, T. N., & Van Raan, A. F. J. (2002). Impact measures of interdisciplinary research in physics. Scientometrics, 53(2), 241–248. Uzzi, B., Mukherjee, S., Stringer, M., & Jones, B. (2013). Atypical Combinations and Scientific Impact. Science, 342(6157), 468–472. Wagner, C. S., Roessner, J. D., Bobb, K., Klein, J. T., Boyack, K. W., Keyton, J., … Börner, K. (2011). Approaches to understanding and measuring interdisciplinary scientific research (IDR): A review of the literature. Journal of Informetrics, 5(1), 14–26. Yegros-Yegros, A., Rafols, I., & D’Este, P. (2015). Does Interdisciplinary Research Lead to Higher Citation Impact? The Different Effect of Proximal and Distal Interdisciplinarity. PLOS ONE, 10(8), e0135095.


Résumé conférencière – Université Laval

Dr Samira Keivanpour, Université Laval

The value chain of offshore wind energy: The opportunities and challenges

Renewable energy is a sustainable solution for reducing environmental impacts resulted from total energy production and consumption. The offshore wind power projects as a clean energy choice of electricity production are growing. Considering the whole value chain of offshore wind farm, the stakeholders, technical challenges, and technology advancement, it is a multidisciplinary research area. This research project aims to develop a framework for assessing the complexity of offshore wind farm by focusing on three essential constructs: the supply chain and logistics, stakeholders, and business dynamics. This study analyzes the complexity of supply chain management in the context of sustainable development. It also provides the review of wind turbine manufacturing as well as offshore installation and service facilities.

Dr. Samira Keivanpour is the post-doctoral researcher in the department of mechanical engineering at Laval University, Canada. Her research activities are focused on sustainable development, renewable energy, design for environment and reverse logistics. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and MBA in Operational Management from Iran. She received her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Laval University. As a member of the research centers of CIRODD and CIRRELT, she participates actively in several research projects. She has also collaborated with several peer-reviewed publications and conference papers & presentations. Dr. Samira Keivanpour


Résumé conférencière – Université McGill

Dre Sherri Lee Jones, McGill University, Douglas Institute Research Centre

The hypothalamus as a mediator of disrupted sexual dimorphisms in children exposed to prenatal maternal stress: Project Ice Storm Sherri Lee Jones1,2, Jens Pruessner1,2,3, David P. Laplante1, Suzanne King1,2 Affiliations: 1Douglas Mental Health University Institute. 2Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada. 3McGill Center for Studies in Aging, Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Qc, Canada

Sex differences in physical traits and behaviors occur largely as a result of prenatal androgen exposure. Prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) disrupts sexually dimorphic traits in offspring, suggesting that PNMS alters prenatal androgen exposure which may have important repercussions on child development. Project Ice Storm has been following the children whose mothers were pregnant with them during Quebec’s 1998 Ice Storm, to better understand various aspects of the mother’s stress experience (objective hardship, subjective distress, and their cognitive appraisal of the event) on child development. We have found that high PNMS disrupts the typical sex difference in digit ratios (a biomarker of prenatal androgen exposure) and brain cortical thickness. Moreover, high objective PNMS is associated with more internalizing symptoms (e.g. depression) in adolescent boys and girls and the typical sex difference is abolished. One mechanism could be increased and/or reduced prenatal androgen exposure in girls and boys, respectively, in turn altering the development of brain structures. The hypothalamus is a brain structure which is larger in males than in females, due to fetal testicular secretion of androgens, and is an important structure for understanding sex differences. In rats, PNMS disrupts the volume of sexual differentiated hypothalamic nuclei, and associated sex-specific behaviors. However, it is not known whether PNMS alters human hypothalamic volume. This project involves developing a novel MRI acquisition and segmentation protocol to measure the volume of the hypothalamus and some of its nuclei in the Ice Storm children. Next, I will assess whether the volumetric sex difference is disrupted by PNMS, and whether it mediates the association between PNMS and internalizing symptoms in adolescence. This is the first study to determine the effects of PNMS on hypothalamic volume in humans, and to test whether its volume mediates developmental

Étudiante postdoctoral dans le laboratoire du Dr Suzanne King au Douglas, j’étudie les effets du stress prénatal maternel sur les dimorphismes sexuels en adolescence. J’ai obtenu mon doctorat en 2015 sous la supervision du Dr James Pfaus à Concordia. J’étudiais l’interaction neuroendocrinienne et expérientiel sur le comportement sexuel chez le rat femelle. J’ai démontré que des déficits sexuels induits par l’altération de l’environnement hormonal prénatal ne sont pas nécessairement permanents. Dre Sherri Lee JONES


outcomes in youth. The findings are also important for understanding hormonal mechanisms that are altered by PNMS, and the neuroimaging protocol has implications for all studies examining sex differences in health and disease. This biopsychosocial model can be replicated and extended in our follow up disaster-related studies of children exposed prenatally to the 2008 Iowa (USA) and 2011 Queensland (Australia) floods. This project is funded by the Fonds de Recherche en Santé – Québec (FRQS) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)


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Canaux potassiques en tant que cibles thérapeutiques dans la réparation et la régénération de l'épithélium respiratoire humain mucoviscidosique Damien Adam, Université de Montréal, CRCHUM Introduction : Le tissu bordant les voies respiratoires, appelé épithélium respiratoire, peut subir de nombreuses agressions, telles que l’infection par des bactéries, ce qui conduit à la destruction partielle ou totale de l’épithélium. Il doit donc se réparer et se régénérer pour retrouver son intégrité structurale et fonctionnelle. Nos précédents travaux ont démontré que l’épithélium respiratoire des patients fibrose kystique reconstitue de façon anormale sa structure après lésions. Nous avons publié précédemment que la correction de la protéine CFTR, mutée chez les patients fibrose kystique, favorisait la réparation épithéliale. Toutefois, nos travaux indiquent que la présence d’infection limite en partie l’action bénéfique des molécules correctrices. De façon intéressante, nous montrons qu’une autre classe de protéines, les canaux potassiques, favorisent la réparation et la régénération de l’épithélium respiratoire, que ce soit en absence ou en présence d’infection. Objectif : Notre objectif est d’identifier les composés activateurs des canaux potassiques, seuls ou en combinaison avec les correcteurs de CFTR, capables d’améliorer le plus efficacement ces processus chez les patients atteints de fibrose kystique. Méthodologies : Nous récoltons des tissus nasaux et bronchiques de patients fibrose kystique et non fibrose kystique où nous isolons les cellules de l’épithélium respiratoire. La vitesse de réparation de l’épithélium respiratoire après lésions ainsi que les étapes de régénération de l’épithélium respiratoire sont étudiés grâce à des modèles in vitro en deux et trois dimensions. Résultats : Nous avons observé dans les différents modèles utilisés que l’inhibition des canaux potassiques induisait un ralentissement de la vitesse de réparation alors que leur activation l’accélérait. De plus, nous avons montré que l’activité de ces canaux impactait la régénération de l’épithélium respiratoire, en particulier que l’activation de ces canaux présentait des effets pro-régénératifs. Discussion : Nos résultats montrent que la fonction des canaux potassiques est cruciale pour la réparation et la régénération de l’épithélium respiratoire. Ceci indique que l’activation de ces canaux est une approche thérapeutique intéressante dans ces processus en fibrose kystique.


Effect of telomere integrity on stem cell differentiation stability Arat N.O.1, St-Denis C.1, Betts D.2, Harrington L.1

(1) Institute of Research in Immunology and Cancer, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada, (2) Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario

Nezahat Ozlem Arat, Université de Montréal, IRIC

Telomere integrity is not only key to sustaining the capacity of stem cells for self-renewal and pluripotency but also provides the capacity of normal and cancer cells to divide as well. Recently, we established that when stem cells contain short telomeres they cannot properly differentiate, but instead maintains expression of pluripotency factors as if they were stem cells. This phenomenon is important to understanding the mechanisms of how cancer cells might be resistant to induced differentiation regimes, since cancers also have short telomeres and often express pluripotency factors. To further understand the events that lead to this unstable differentiation phenotype, we determined if these mechanism(s) are conserved in human cancer cells and stem cells with short telomeres. We also tested whether this phenomenon may influence the ability of cancer cells to respond to agents [e.g. all trans retinoic acid (ATRA)] that induce differentiation, which is a current therapeutic strategy used against blood, prostate and brain cancers. We observed that telomere extension in human primary epithelial cells leads to a more prolonged suppression of cell doubling in the presence of all trans retinoic acid, and that cells in which telomerase activity was restored with wild-type hTERT possessed an increased total methylated CpG content compared with cells that expressed an inactive mutant of hTERT. We have extended these results to human cancer cell lines including PC3 (prostate cancer line), SKNBE2 (Neuroblastoma). These data together suggest that telomere integrity is critical to sustain differentiated state in human cells as observed in murine ESCs. Understanding further how short telomeres affect the stability of differentiation may open new strategies that will improve human health and our ability to treat certain cancer types.

Analyzing, measuring and visualizing the success of interdisciplinarity Ons Barnat, Université Laval, LARC-OICRM Récipiendaire d'une bourse postdoctorale Mitacs Élévation, je coordonne un ambitieux projet de Bibliothèque des Performances Musicales du Monde (le Music Legacy Project, www.musiclegacyproject.com) en partenariat avec l'entreprise de post-production audiovisuelle La Hacienda Creative (lahaciendacreative.com). Ce projet novateur mêle ethnomusicologie patrimoniale et utilisation d'une technologie de collecte audiovisuelle à 360 destinée à

(visiocasques de type Oculus Rift, mais aussi tablettes interactives, site web à 360 , etc...). Il s'a

permettre au spectateur de s'immerger totalement au sein de performances musicales traditionnelles ou folkloriques, dans lesquelles seront insérées des micro-capsules favorisant l'interactivité (permettant notamment d'avoir accès à des données extra-musicales sur le contexte social, historique, culturel de telle ou telle musique ou instrument).


Depuis l’édition 2014 de SXSW (South by Southwest, à Austin, Texas) et la présentation de Strangers with Patrick Watson, réalisé par les studios montréalais Felix & Paul, les enregistrements cinématographiques en 3D et à 360° sont sur le point de devenir une réalité majeure pour l’industrie des médias numériques. Avec la commercialisation programmée de visiocasques de réalité virtuelle (Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive...), la demande pour du contenu destiné à ce nouveau moyen de consommer des performances musicales ouvre la boite de Pandore pour tout créateur de musique – ainsi que pour tout ethnographe. En plongeant le consommateur au centre d’une expérience totalement immersive, cette technologie offre de nouvelles façons de penser la relation entre artistes et amateurs de musique. Du côté de la recherche, comment ce changement paradigmatique pourrait-il influencer notre façon de faire de l’ethnographie musicale? Après un tour d’horizon des recherches sur l’audio dans la réalité virtuelle, cette communication présentera nos premières données ethnomusicologiques collectées à l’aide d’un dispositif de captation audiovisuel à 360° – ce qui nous permettra d’estimer le rôle de l’enregistrement sonore dans la « restitution » en réalité virtuelle. Cette communication abordera également quelques-unes des problématiques méthodologiques, éthiques et épistémologiques soulevées par l’utilisation d’un tel dispositif, au demeurant expérimental.

Transient melting study of an impure phase change material in a hexagonal-shaped double pipe heat exchanger aLatifa Begum, bMainul Hasan, cGeorgios H. Vatistas a. NSERC-Post Doctoral Fellow, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Engineering, Concordia University, 1455

de Maisonneuve Blvd, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. H3G 1M8. b. Associate Professor, Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Email: [email protected] c. Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Engineering, Concordia University, Email:

[email protected] Latifa Begum, Université Concordia Since the availability of solar energy and its utilization periods are not necessarily the same, therefore for its effective use some form of heat storage devices are necessary. In this regard, a Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage (LHTES) system meets the need since it can overcome the mismatch between the supply and demand of solar energy. In a LHTES system, energy during periods of bright sunshine can be stored, preserved and later retrieved for utilization during the night or other periods. A double-pipe heat exchanger is frequently used as a heat exchanging device for a LHTES system, particularly for solar energy storage applications. This work numerically investigates the transient 2-D buoyancy driven heat transfer processes that arise during the energy storage period (melting) of a commercial paraffin wax as PCM embedded in the annular space of an insulated hexagonal-shaped outer enclosure with an inner coaxial circular pipe carrying the heat transfer fluid (HTF). To accurately model this complex geometrical system, a non-orthogonal boundary-fitted CFD technique on a staggered grid arrangement is implemented. The popular enthalpy-porosity method is invoked to model the mushy region melting problem. A control-volume-based finite-difference scheme is used to discretize the equations and the SIMPLER algorithm is implemented to resolve the pressure-velocity couplings in the momentum


equations. The thermo-physical properties of the PCM are assumed to be constant except for the density variation in the body force term, which is approximated by the Boussinesq model. Transient evolutions of the flow patterns, temperature distributions, liquid fractions, latent energy (in kJ/m) and cumulatively stored energy (in kJ/m) are presented and discussed for various thermal conditions of the inner pipe wall. The total melt volume and the total energy charged (sensible and latent energies) both are increased with the increase in the melting time and with the increase in the inner cylinder wall temperatures. The present modeling work on an irregular-shaped horizontal double-pipe heat exchanger embedded with a technical grade PCM is new and novel. From the predicted results of this study some practical guidelines are provided for the improvements of thermal efficiency and performance of the proposed tube-in-tube type LHTES device. Harnessing ecology for the collective design of sustainable agro-ecosystems Elsa T. Berthet a, b, McGill University, Sustainable Futures Research Laboratory There is a paradox between the constant increase of knowledge production in ecology and the limited impact of innovations aiming to improve agro-ecosystems’ sustainability. Drawing on recent design theories’ formalism, this research shows how shifting from a ‘decision’ pathway (i.e., identify optimal decisions to implement within a set of pre-defined options) to a ‘design’ pathway (i.e., enlarge the range of decision alternatives) may help overcoming this paradox. Considering that the first pathway tends to set off conflicts between stakeholders, inefficient public spending and limited innovation, we propose a conceptual framework facilitating the mobilization of ecological knowledge in innovative design processes. The elaboration of the framework draws upon a three-year collaboration between a design scientist and a research team in ecology. This team has been conducting a long-term research program on reconciling intensive crop production and biodiversity preservation in western France. The framework was then applied to two other contrasted empirical cases, wet grasslands and subalpine grasslands, to reveal its potential in various contexts. Once ecologists identify a key regulation process to be maintained in the agro-ecosystem, which we name “key underlying property”, various configurations of the agro-ecosystem can be explored to meet this property. We introduce the notion of “ecological fund”, i.e., the subsystem in which the key underlying property needs to be maintained, and point that it can be the departure point of a design process. An ecological fund is identified on the basis of ecological knowledge, but it guides a design process that may involve various stakeholders. Indeed, it first delimits the design process, determining the scale of the system to design, the stakeholders impacted, etc. Second, it provides design specifications, but also degrees of freedom opening new design spaces instead of imposing a turnkey solution.


This research shows that, despite ecology is often considered as an expertise to inform decision-making processes or as constraining agricultural production, it may provide key knowledge that opens innovative design opportunities for enhancing agro-ecosystems’ sustainability, providing that it is formulated as a design brief. Such a shift from decision to design thus requires enhancing the design capabilities of both researchers and local stakeholders. Alu repeats shape human macrophage transcriptional responses to M. tuberculosis infection Manuella Bouttier, McGill University We screened for transcriptional responses to early-stage M. tuberculosis infection of macrophages by ChIPseq analysis of H3K4 monomethylation, a marker of poised or active enhancers. De novo H3K4me1 peaks were associated with genes implicated in host defenses and cell death. Remarkably, 40% of these regions contained Alu repeats, human/primate-specific transposable elements, which were enriched for several transcription factor binding sites. These include members of the MEF2 and ATF families and LXR and RAR nuclear receptors, which have been implicated in macrophage survival, and responses to stress and infection. Combined bioinformatic and biochemical approaches link loci associated with Alu repeats to macrophage metabolic responses to Mtb infection. In particular, we show that LXR signaling strongly reduced Mtb viability by altering cholesterol metabolism and enhancing macrophage apoptosis. These studies decipher early macrophage transcriptional responses to Mtb, and highlight the role of Alu element transposition in shaping human transcription programs in innate immunity. Quelles sont les stratégies développées par des thérapeutes de santé pour maximiser l’engagement dans le processus thérapeutique chez des familles immigrantes dont l’enfant présente un trouble développemental? Elise Brassart, Université Laval, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Réadaptation et Intégration Sociale (CIRRIS) L’engagement des parents est essentiel pour maximiser l’efficacité d’une thérapie chez l’enfant. Or, plusieurs études montrent que les familles immigrantes dont l’enfant présente un trouble développemental sont moins engagées au sein du processus thérapeutique. De nombreuses raisons peuvent être évoquées pour expliquer cela : barrière linguistique, méconnaissance du système de santé, stress de la vie quotidienne, facteurs culturels. Les chercheurs manquent d’un cadre conceptuel cohérent qui synthétise les stratégies que mettent en place les professionnels de santé pour parer à ces difficultés. Pour combler cette limitation, 21 thérapeutes ont été sélectionnés au sein de différentes disciplines : physiologistes, orthophonistes, éducateurs, psychologues, assistants sociaux, ergothérapeutes. Ils ont été interviewés sur : (1) les obstacles qu’ils rencontrent dans les thérapies en contexte multiculturel et (2) les stratégies qu’ils mettent en place pour parer à ces difficultés. Une


procédure d’analyse thématique a été appliquée sur les données. Trois stratégies principales s’articulent autour d’un modèle conceptuel de l’engagement dans le traitement chez les parents immigrants. Premièrement, les résultats mettent en évidence l’importance de contrer la barrière de la langue en adaptant/simplifiant son langage, en utilisant des outils pour maximiser la communication et en recourant à un service d’interprétariat. Deuxièmement, l’importance d’expliquer le handicap aux parents est soulevée par les thérapeutes principalement en apprenant à connaître et en respectant les différentes perceptions culturelles du handicap et en donnant des éléments d’explication du diagnostic. Troisièmement, aider les parents à mieux comprendre le processus thérapeutique est essentiel en les préparant avant le début de la thérapie, en construisant avec eux le plan thérapeutique et en développant un partenariat tout au long du processus. Ces résultats ont de nombreuses implications puisqu’ils devraient permettre d’aider les thérapeutes, au sein de différentes disciplines, à trouver des stratégies efficaces pour améliorer l’engagement des parents dans les thérapies en contexte multiculturel. How Are Depressive Symptoms and Social Support Associated Over Time in Adults with Diabetes? A Test of Competing Models Rachel Burns: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University & Douglas Mental Health University Institute Sonya Deschênes: Department of Psychiatry, McGill University & Douglas Mental Health University Institute Norbert Schmitz: Department of Psychiatry & Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics McGill University & Douglas Mental Health University Institute

Rachel Burns, McGill University, Douglas Mental Health University Institute Introduction: Individuals with diabetes are at increased risk of elevated depressive symptoms, and social support has been identified as a key factor in promoting the health of this population. Associations between depressive symptoms and social support have been demonstrated in individuals with diabetes. Three classes of theoretical models differentially describe the direction of this association: (1) social support influences depressive symptoms, (2) depressive symptoms influence social support, and (3) a reciprocal association exists between depressive symptoms and social support. The aim of this study was to compare these three theoretical models. The model containing reciprocal associations between depressive symptoms and social support was expected to best fit the data. Methods: Depressive symptoms and social support were measured via telephone survey in a large cohort study of individuals with diabetes (n=1 754) throughout the province of Quebec. After baseline, data were collected annually for four years. The fit of four path models were compared with Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC). The first path model was a stability model, which contained only autoregressive effects. The remaining three path models represented each of the theoretical models. Results: The reciprocal model had the lowest AIC, so it was selected as the best fitting model. At all times points, depressive symptoms predicted subsequent social support and at most time point social support predicted subsequent depressive symptoms. Conclusions: It appears that the association between depressive symptoms and social support in people with diabetes is best characterized as reciprocal. Results underscore the importance of comparing competing theoretical models.


Mediation effect of DNA methylation on the impact of exposure to the prenatal maternal stress from the 1998 Quebec ice storm on insulin and C-peptide secretion at age of 13½ years Lei Cao-Lei, Kelsey N. Dancause, Guillaume Elgbeili, Moshe Szyf, David P. Laplante and Suzanne King

Lei Cao-Lei, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Centre Background: Animal and human studies suggest that prenatal exposure to stress is associated with adverse health outcomes such as type 2 diabetes, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance in offspring. Epigenetic modification such as DNA methylation is considered one possible underlying mechanism. Given that women cannot randomly be assigned to experience depression or relationship difficulties in pregnancy, studies showing associations between maternal mood or psychosocial stressors and child outcomes cannot disentangle the genetic transmission of maternal traits from effects of the intrauterine environment and from conditions in the postnatal environment. The 1998 Quebec ice storm provides a unique opportunity to study a randomly assigned prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) on child outcomes.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the extent to which prenatal exposure to objective hardship and subjective distress due to the storm influences children’s insulin and C-peptide secretion at age 13½ and to determine whether DNA methylation of diabetes-related genes mediates the effects of PNMS on insulin and C-peptide secretion.

Methods: Participants were recruited from our Project Ice Storm cohort. Fasting and challenged blood samples were obtained from 31 adolescents at age 13½. CpGs corresponding to genes from Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus pathways were selected for mediation analysis on insulin and C-peptide secretion. The mediation model included either insulin or C-peptide secretion as the outcome, objective or subjective PNMS as the predictor, and DNA methylation levels of CpGs as mediators.

Results: We found that children whose mothers experienced higher objective hardship exhibited both higher insulin and C-peptide secretion in response to an oral glucose tolerance test. Furthermore, DNA methylation of type 1 and 2 diabetes-related genes had a positive mediating effect of objective PNMS on both insulin and C-peptide secretion (i.e., the magnitude of objective hardship exposure was associated with an increase in DNA methylation, which in turn, was associated with an increase in insulin and C-peptide secretion).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that DNA methylation could act as an intervening variable between prenatal stress and metabolic outcomes, highlighting the importance of epigenetic mechanisms in response to environmental factors.


Towards a Measure of Quality of Participation: Conceptual and Methodological Considerations Jeffrey G. Caron1, Shane N. Sweet1, & Kathleen Martin Ginis2, McGill University1; McMaster University2

Jeff Caron, McGill University Approximately 11% of Canadian adults have a physical disability (Statistics Canada, 2012), and these individuals have reported barriers that prevent them from fully participating in society (Heinemann, 2010). As outlined in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (World Health Organization, 2001), “activities” and “participation” are key concepts related to functioning and disability. Activities refer the physical and cognitive tasks performed by individuals (e.g., bathing, eating, dressing), while participation refers to involvement in life situations such as (a) employment, (b) mobility, and (c) sport/leisure (Whiteneck & Dijkers, 2009). Participation is an important long-term outcome of medical, rehabilitation, and social service programs for people with a disability (Barclay, McDonald, & Lentin, 2015), and higher levels of participation have been associated with better physical and psychological health as well as greater overall life satisfaction (e.g., Levasseur, Desrosiers, & Noreau, 2009). Researchers have developed a number of measures to assess participation, and the majority of which have focused on the quantity (i.e., what and how often) of participation (e.g., Postema et al, 2016). However, measuring participation solely in terms of the amount or frequency people are involved in daily activities ignores the meanings and satisfactions associated with their participation (Dijkers, 2010; Hammel et al., 2008). Although some measures have been used to assess the quality of participation for adults living with a disability (e.g., Noreau et al., 2004), previous measures have been unable to account for the three main dimensions (employment, mobility, and sport/leisure). A recent review from Martin Ginis, Evans, Mortensen, & Noreau (under review) identified six themes that can inform the quality of participation: autonomy, belongingness, challenge, engagement, mastery, and meaning. The focus of this presentation will be to describe the methods that have been (and will be) utilized to develop a measure of quality of participation: a systematic search for existing items relating to the 6 themes of quality of participation, iterative process for item selection, and planned psychometric testing methods. The development of such a measure is beneficial for researchers, decision makers, and program designers. Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis in MLL-AF9 rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) Magalie Celton, Université de Montréal, IRIC The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of DNA methylation in leukemogenesis. KMT2A (MLL)-rearranged leukemia represents a distinctive subgroup of leukemias. One of the most frequent MLL fusion partner genes in pediatric AML is the gene MLLT3 (encoding the AF9 protein). We focus on understanding the evolution of gene expression patterns during leukemogenesis by correlating changes in DNA methylation to gene expression changes. Next generation DNA sequencing of large cohorts of patients provided a rich integrated view of gene expressions and DNA methylation data (Cancer Genome Atlas Research, N. N Engl J Med, 2013). Despite


these data, the identification of the molecular mechanisms involved in the transformation of normal stem cells into leukemic cells remains unclear. The Barabé and Wilhelm labs from Laval University and IRIC, respectively, have adapted a technique to generate human leukemias from single, rather than pooled (Barabe, F. et al. Science, 2007), cord blood donors, expressing a human MLL-AF9 fusion gene. We performed methyl-seq data from the CD34+ (from cord blood) before and after MLL-AF9 transduction and also from model MLL-AF9 AMLs. Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns were identified using the Methyl-seq approach (Agilent SureSelect) to survey DNA methylation in CpG islands, promoters and known regulatory elements. First, the heterogeneity of methylation profiles is reduced in the model AML compared to AML patients. Then, our analysis has revealed that, despite the immediate expression changes after the MLL-AF9 fusion gene is added, there is a dramatic increase (~ x15) of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) when the transformed cells are leukemic cells. A significant loss of DNA methylation is observed in model MLL-AF9 AML, which half of them co-localize with as expected CpG islands elements but also with gene regulatory elements (e.g. enhancers, transcription-factor binding sites). These observations are consistent with our methylation data from three MLL_AF9 patients. The combination of the engineered AML leukemias system, next-generation sequencing (RNA-seq and Methyl-seq) and bioinformatics analysis provide a powerful system to identify AML specific transcriptional changes and has revealed consistent changes in the location and dynamics of DNA methylation. Radiomic Analysis of GBM in MRI Ahmad Chaddad, École de technologie supérieure (ETS), Laboratory for Imagery, Vision and Artificial Intelligence

Purpose: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive form of brain tumor. The GBM typically exhibits three distinct tissue phenotypes, namely necrosis, contrast-enhancement and edema. These phenotypes are characterized by distinctive image texture patterns in MRI, which may reflect the underlying biology of the tumor. This work aims to apply computations methods, known as radiomic analysis, to characterize the GBM phenotype texture features from MRI and investigate their utility in predicting GBM patient survival time.

Materials and Methods: We retrospectively identified 39 patients ((Necrosis (N) = 34 samples, Contrast Enhancement (CE) = 39 samples, Edema (E) = 39 samples)) with histologically confirmed GBM from the Cancer Genome Atlas with corresponding MRI data in the Cancer Imaging Archive. Using T1 weighted post contrast and its corresponding fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) via the 3D Slicer tool, we registered images and manually segmented GBM phenotype regions. A diverse set of texture


features was extracted from image data using the gray level co-occurrence matrix representation and associated quantifier functions. Various classifier models are then used to evaluate the effectiveness of texture features in distinguishing between GBM phenotypes, and Kaplan-Meier and log-rank model were used to assess the relationship between texture features and overall survival of patients with GBM.

Results: Preliminarily results based on T1-WI scans showed a GBM phenotype classification accuracy of over 88.14% (62.71% in FLAIR), a sensitivity of 85.37% (56.10% in FLAIR), and a specificity of 96.1% (96.1% in FLAIR), using the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) classifier. For survival analysis, the texture derived from FLAIR scans show that four features (Energy, Correlation, Variance and Inverse of Variance) from contrast enhancement, and one feature (Homogeneity) from edema were associated with overall survival of GBM patients with p-value < 0.01, while, T1-WI scans show only three features (Energy, Correlation, and Variance) from contrast enhancement that found to predict overall survival of GBM patients. Conclusions: Radiomic analysis using texture features was demonstrated to be a promising approach for assessing GBM tissue phenotypes. Texture features are also shown to be a potential useful non-invasive technique for predicting the overall survival times of GBM patients. A network perspective on patient engagement in health care: findings from the 2014 International Health Policy Survey Yi-Sheng Chao, Université de Montréal, CRCHUM Objective Engaging patients in their own care had been proposed to improve health outcomes and improve health care quality[1-3]. However, it is unclear what dimensions of contexts could affect patient engagement. This study aims to explore whether patient engagement modifies the relationships between health systems and health status. Approach We used the Commonwealth Fund 2014 International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults that provides information from adults aged 55 years and over in 11 jurisdictions with details in patient characteristics, jurisdictional health systems, patient-physician communication and other factors related to patient engagement. Patient engagement was measured as the involvement in their own health care[2]. Bayesian networks consisting of nodes and arcs that represented variables of interest and the relationships between them were used[4]. The relationships between variables were described in conditional dependencies and tested with score-based methods[5]. The bnlearn package[6] was used to construct networks. Results


Among 25,530 participants, the mean age was 68.51 years (95% CI = 68.40 to 68.62) and 57.40% were females. The distributions of age, sex, education, heart disease, diabetes, and end-of-life planning were significantly different across jurisdictions (p<0.001). In a network model, implementation of patient engagement could be classified to specialist-care and chronic illness settings. Better coordination with primary care providers was associated with more frequently being told all treatment options or getting involved in care in specialist care (p<0.001). In chronic-illness care, written plans and clear instructions were associated with whether a treatment plan was perceived to be manageable for chronic illness patients (p<0.001) that subsequently related to the helpfulness of the treatment plan (p<0.001). These treatment plans and the written lists of all prescriptions were associated with general health (p<0.001). Conclusion Patient engagement is subject to the contexts, especially specialist care and chronic illness care. The network perspective is particularly useful to 1) search for the upstream interventions or contexts that may have extensive influence over patient engagement and health status and 2) search for engagement priories that don’t interfere with each other. References

1. Boivin, A., et al., What are the key ingredients for effective public involvement in health care improvement and policy decisions? A randomized trial process evaluation. Milbank Q, 2014. 92(2): p. 319-50.

2. Boivin, A., et al., Involving patients in setting priorities for healthcare improvement: a cluster randomized trial. Implement Sci, 2014. 9(24): p. 24.

3. Hibbard, J.H. and J. Greene, What the evidence shows about patient activation: better health outcomes and care experiences; fewer data on costs. Health Aff (Millwood), 2013. 32(2): p. 207-14.

4. Scutari, M. and K. Strimmer, Introduction to Graphical Modelling, in Handbook of Statistical Systems Biology. 2011, Wiley.

5. Scutari, M., Learning Bayesian Networks with the bnlearn R Package. Journal of Statistical Software, 2010. 35(3): p. 1-22.

6. Nagarajan, R., M. Scutari, and S. Lèbre, Bayesian Networks in R: with Applications in Systems Biology. Use R! 2013: Springer.¸

The development of an educational intervention to enhance competencies for inter professional collaboration among nurse and physician managers Christina Clausen, Université de Montréal, CIFI Managers in the Canadian health care system face complex challenges such as pressures for cost containment, complex care environments and rapid change, while continuing to strive for high quality and safe patient care. The recent re-design of Quebec’s health care system involves integrating and re-aligning institutions with different organizational missions and cultures. Health care professionals are now practicing in systems of care that have extended organizational boundaries. In these new forms of work processes, inter professional co-managing is becoming the norm. Nurse and physician co-management requires enhanced capabilities and capacity in relationship development. (1) Individuals


new to such management structures need to purposefully build partnerships to create results, mobilize knowledge and develop learning organizations in order to ensure positive impact for patients. (2)

The objectives of this postdoctoral research is to develop, implement and evaluate an in-action education intervention that is intended to support the development of competencies in the co- management context particularly among nurses and physicians who are new to their role. The intentional partnering process suggested by Clausen et al., (2015) provides the theoretical framework for developing management relationships across disciplines. It identifies the particular capacities required to develop successful partnerships in co-managing. (3) While in the beginning of this research, we are in the process of securing a setting where the development, implementation and evaluation of the intervention will be conducted, collection and analysis of interviews and focus group data will be carried out in order to validate the key competencies and co-design the intervention. In year 2, the intervention will be implemented and evaluated. A participatory approach that uses reflective learning activities relevant to participant’s management practice and setting will be used. (4)

The current focus on professional health education emphasizes inter professionalism and mutual learning. (5) Developing inter professional competencies at the management level that uses a participatory approach and a theoretical framework derived from the clinical management milieu will inform the current redesign of continuing professional education. It also attempts to address the needs of new managers in a system that is undergoing radical transformation and will become the basis for my program of research for the years to come.

References 1. Denis, J-L, Gibeau, E., Langley, A., Pomey, M-P., & Van Schendel. (2012). Modèles et enjeux du partenariat médico-administratif: état des connsaisances. Retrieved from http://www.aqesss.qc.ca/docs/dossiers/partenariat-medico-administratif/revue_de_litterature-Partenariat_medico-administratif-Fevrier-2012.pdf 2. Canadian Health Leadership Network. (2014). Closing the gap: a Canadian health leadership action plan. Retrieved from http://chlnet.ca/tools/resources/health-leadership-strategy 3. Clausen, et al., (2015) Dissertation. Intentional partnering: How nurse and physician managers in formalized dyads work together to address clinical management issues in a hospital setting. 4. Heron, J. (1997). A participatory inquiry paradigm. Qualitative Inquiry, 3 (3): 274-294 5. Frenk, J. (2010). Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world. The Lancet, 376: 1923-1958.

Les études créoles, les sciences du langage et la didactique des langues Alberte Magally Constant, Université de Montréal, Département de Didactique Les études créoles sont un ensemble de recherches articulées autour de la thématique des langues et cultures créole. Autrement dit, ces études portent sur des îles, des peuples et des langues ayant en commun un passé colonial, des populations métissées et des langues nouvelles, nées en situation de contact. Ces études sont interdisciplinaires par nécessité: on ne peut construire un discours cohérent


http://www.aqesss.qc.ca/docs/dossiers/partenariat-medico-administratif/revue_de_litterature-Partenariat_medico-administratif-Fevrier-2012.pdf

http://www.aqesss.qc.ca/docs/dossiers/partenariat-medico-administratif/revue_de_litterature-Partenariat_medico-administratif-Fevrier-2012.pdf

http://chlnet.ca/tools/resources/health-leadership-strategy%20%20%203

http://chlnet.ca/tools/resources/health-leadership-strategy%20%20%203

sur l'émergence des créoles qu'en associant étroitement matériaux anthropo-sociologiques, analyses historiques et politiques et manifestations linguistiques. Cependant, cette nécessité de la contribution interdisciplinaire a fait en sorte que ces études fassent montre d'une certaine faiblesse paradigmatique. Le jugement épistémologique est assez sévère: on reproche aux linguistes travaillant sur les langues créoles de manquer de rigueur quant au respect des principes de la linguistique générale. Dans un premier temps, nous mettrons à jour les éléments concernant les fondements de la faiblesse paradigmatique constatée. La question sera simple: quels sont les problèmes que veulent résoudre les études sur les langues créoles et plus particulièrement, les études portant sur le fonctionnement interne de ces langues? Dans un deuxième temps, nous essayerons de montrer comment ces études peuvent fournir un matériau pertinent pour résoudre certains problèmes qui se posent dans le domaine de la didactique du français langue seconde en milieu créolophone. Tout en réinvestissant les éléments hérités de la linguistique contrastive, nous complexifierons notre démarche en l'associant au domaine de la traduction. La question est la suivante: de quelle manière la traductologie peut-elle nous aider à résoudre certains problèmes concernant la différenciation discursive au sein du créole haïtien? En effet, comme pour toutes les langues portées majoritairement par une tradition orale, le créole haïtien peut être appréhendé par le biais de l'entrée dans la culture écrite. Encore aujourd'hui, le consensus est loin d'être trouvé sur la question de la pertinence de la distinction des niveaux discursifs au sein de la langue en dehors de la reconnaissance de certains genres littéraires. Or, le créole étant une langue de scolarisation, on peut envisager les problèmes que ces indéterminations posent en didactique. Évaluation des habitudes et performances de conduite d’un véhicule Oussama Derbel et RenéJr. Landry

Oussama Derbel, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), LASSENA Le rapport du «National Highway Traffic Safety» (NHTS) sur les mortalités de 2013 a révélé que le nombre d'accidents mortels impliquant la conduite agressive ou la rage de la route est passé de 26 en 2004 à 247 en 2013. Ces dégâts impactent non seulement la santé des usagers de la route, mais aussi les compagnies d'assurance. Pour pallier aux causes des accidents routiers, un dispositif électronique autonome, composé de senseurs intelligents, d’une centrale inertielle, d’un récepteur GPS et d’un module de communication permettant de connecter les véhicules en tout temps, a été conçu dans le laboratoire LASSENA de l’ÉTS pour la collecte et l’analyse des données de conduite. L’équipe de recherche s’intéresse également aux impacts de la conduite sur l’état du trafic, les accidents, à de nouveaux modes de paiement selon la qualité de la conduite «Pay-How-You-Drive»(PHYD) et sur les infrastructures utilisées par le véhicule «Pay-As-You-Drive»(PAYD).


Les données enregistrées sont traitées pour quantifier les événements systématiques et les comportements dangereux de conduite pouvant mener à un accident. Des métriques de risques relatifs au système Conducteur-Véhicule-Environnement(CVE) ont été développées et communiquées dans trois conférences internationales et un journal. L’idée consiste à modéliser les données de chaque sous-système du CVE, les classifier et de calculer un niveau de risque local pour chacun. La fusion de ces risques locaux permet de calculer un score global de conduite sur lequel la prime d’assurance est calculée. Les métriques développées pour le Véhicule utilisent les accélérations longitudinales et latérales, les vitesses ainsi que l’angle de braquage du véhicule. Le risque du Conducteur dépend de son âge et sexe. Le risque de l’Environnement est basé sur le nombre d’accident dans chaque arrondissement. Ces métriques de risque sont utilisées par l’équipe du développement de l’application web à travers laquelle l’utilisateur automobile peut consulter ses performances et sa prime d’assurance selon divers algorithmes. Ces métriques permettent également aux algorithmes de reconstruction d’accident d’évaluer la situation juste avant et après l’accident et d’inclure l’analyse dans le rapport final d’accident. Depression and Anxiety and the risk of Progressing from Prediabetes to Type 2 Diabetes: Results from a Prospective Cohort Study Sonya Deschênes, McGill University, Douglas Mental Health University Institute Background: Though prediabetes and psychological distress are independent risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D), the combination of prediabetes and psychological distress might amplify the risk. With a prospective epidemiological investigation of a cohort of Canadian adults, the goal of the present study was to examine the synergistic interaction between prediabetes and elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety on the risk of T2D in a population without diabetes at baseline. Methods: Data were from the Emotional Well-Being, Metabolic Factors and Health Status study and included 2,478 adults without diabetes at baseline between 40–69 years of age. Baseline data were collected in 2009-2010 which included blood assessments of hemoglobin A1c for determining prediabetes status as well as measures of depression and anxiety, used for assessing psychological distress. In 2014-2015, a follow-up telephone interview inquired about diabetes diagnoses received by health-care professionals since baseline. Statistical analyses compared 5-year T2D incidence rates across groups based on prediabetes status and the presence/absence of high psychological distress at baseline. Results: In a model controlling for sociodemographic and lifestyle-related characteristics, the group with prediabetes only (OR= 3.34, 95% CI [2.61, 4.29]) and the group with prediabetes and high psychological distress (OR= 5.39, 95% CI [3.32, 8.74]) had an elevated risk of T2D relative to the group without prediabetes and with low psychological distress. The group with high psychological distress only was not more likely to develop T2D than the reference group (OR= .99, 95% CI [0.47, 2.11]). The joint effect of prediabetes and high psychological distress on the risk of T2D was synergistic in


sociodemographic-adjusted analyses, as it exceeded additive risk (Synergy Index= 2.16, 95% CI [1.29, 3.62]). When additionally adjusting for lifestyle characteristics (physical inactivity, smoking, and body mass index), the joint effect of prediabetes and high psychological distress on T2D no longer exceeded additive risk. Conclusions: Depression and anxiety are associated with an increased risk of progressing from prediabetes to T2D. Lifestyle characteristics may partially account for the observed synergistic interaction. Overall these findings underscore the importance of considering psychological factors in conjunction with traditional biological risk factors in prevention efforts for T2D. Enseigner la pensée critique aux adolescents au Québec, en France et au Maroc Gabriela Fiema, Université de Montréal, Groupe de Recherche sur l'Éthique de l'Éducation (UQAM)

Le travail postdoctoral s’inscrit dans le cadre du programme de recherche financé par le CRSH Processus développemental d’une pensée critique chez les adolescents. L’objectif du programme est d’étudier les manifestations d’une pensée critique (PC) chez des groupes d’élèves âgés entre 10 et 18 ans fréquentant des écoles au Québec, en France et au Maroc est de situer les résultats dans leurs contextes pédagogiques afin de mieux comprendre la relation « PC et adolescence ».

Il existe plusieurs définitions de la PC. Selon une d’elles, élaborée par Ennis (1962, 1984), la PC est une pensée logique caractérisée par des habiletés cognitives complexes (justifier, évaluer…). Ennis considère l’influence de la pensée créative (inventer, associer…) sur la PC, et des attitudes intellectuelles (curiosité, rigueur,…). La PC consiste en l’évaluation aussi bien des énoncés et des croyances que des actions afin de faire des choix éclairés. Aujourd’hui il est important d’enseigner la PC dès le plus jeune âge afin d’éduquer des jeunes citoyens responsables.

Les données recueillies dans le cadre du programme sont des discussions d’élèves sur un sujet philosophique, des entrevues sur les représentations de la PC chez les élèves, et des entrevues avec des directions d’écoles sur l’enseignement de la PC dans leurs établissements. Pour l’analyse des données, le cadre théorique principal qui a été choisi est le modèle du processus développemental d’une PC, développé par Daniel et al. (entre autres Daniel et al., 2011).

Les objectifs du travail postdoctoral sont les suivants : 1) analyse des manifestations et des conceptions d’une PC chez les élèves à l’aide du modèle développemental; 2) analyse des conceptions de la PC que se font les directions d’écoles des participants et les stratégies pédagogiques que ces directions préconisent dans leur école; 3) analyse des orientations et objectifs/compétences visés dans les programmes de formation officiels (généraux et disciplinaires) de chacun des trois sites quant au développement des habiletés et attitudes associées à une PC; 4) mise en relations des résultats des phases précédentes.


L’objectif final est l’élaboration d’un rapport sur l’état des lieux de l’enseignement de la PC avec des éventuelles préconisations pour l’amélioration dans les trois pays destiné aux ministères de l’éducation respectifs.

Association between paraspinal muscle morphology, clinical symptoms and functional status in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy Co-authors: Dobrescu O, Courtemanche M, Sparrey C, Santaguida C Fehlings M, Weber MH

Maryse Fortin, Université Concordia, PERFORM Centre Purpose: Cervical muscle alterations have been reported in patients with chronic neck pain, but the assessment of cervical muscle morphology has been overlooked in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). The objective of this study was to assess the composition (e.g. fatty infiltration) and asymmetry of the multifidus (MF), semispinalis cervicis (SCer), semispinalis capitis (SCap) and splenius capitis (SPL) muscles in patients with DCM, and evaluate their correlations with clinical symptoms and functional scores. Methods: Thirty-eight patients diagnosed with CSM and spinal cord compression at C4-C5 (n=20) or C5-C6 (n=18) (first level of compression) were selected from the AOSpine CSM database. Paraspinal muscle measurements of cross-sectional area (CSA) and ratio of functional CSA (fat free area, FCSA) to total CSA were obtained from T2-weighted axial images at the level above, same, and level below the most cranial level of spinal cord compression. Muscle fatty infiltration and asymmetry was assessed at every level and their associations with respect to various clinical signs and symptoms, as well as functional scores were investigated. Results: There was a significant increase in fatty infiltration (decrease in FCSA/CSA ratio) of the MF (p=0.001) and SPL (p<0.001) muscles at the level below the spinal cord compression. A significant increase in MF CSA asymmetry (p<0.001) was also observed at the level below the compression. Among various independent variables tested in multivariate regression analyses, lower MF FCSA/CSA ratio was associated with hands paresthesia, longer 30-meters walk test time and corticospinal distribution motor deficits. Lower SPL FCSA/CSA ratio at all levels was also associated with weakness. Greater asymmetry in SCap CSA was associated with higher Neck Disability Index (NDI) scores while greater asymmetry in MF CSA was associated with a positive Hoffman sign and weakness. Conclusion: A significant increase in cervical muscle fatty infiltration and CSA asymmetry at the level below the compression was observed in patients with DCM. Worsening of these parameters was associated with clinical symptoms and lower functional scores. Clinicians should emphasis the importance of peri-operative muscle training and consider anterior surgical approach whenever possible in order to preserve the integrity and function of the cervical musculature.


Does Growing Up Poor Relative to Others Relate to the Happiness Levels of Adolescents? Genevieve Gariepy, McGill University, Institute for Health and Social Policy Background: Growing up economically disadvantaged compared to others is thought to affect the positive mental health of youths, but how this effect takes place over childhood is unknown. We used a life course approach to examine whether the timing and duration of relative income deprivation experienced in childhood impacted subjective well-being at adolescence. Methods: We used data from the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics (n=2234 adolescents, age range 12-19 years). We performed regressions using marginal structural modelling to test for sensitive periods and modeled the number of years spent in the poorest income quintiles to test cumulative effects. Results: A period in early childhood (age 0-2 years) was particularly sensitive to relative household income position. The number of years spent in relative income deprivation in childhood had a cumulative effect on levels of subjective well-being in adolescence. Conclusion: The duration and timing of relative household income position in childhood mattered to the happiness levels of adolescents. Studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms of these models and inform public policies. Computational and machine learning methodologies to accelerate drug discovery Sébastien Giguère, Université de Montréal, Institut de Recherche en Immunologie et en Cancérologie To date, the application of bioinformatics to drug discovery has been mainly driven by trial and error approaches, with limited success in the design or optimization of new molecules. However, new machine learning or artificial intelligence methods are poised to improve the properties of drug-like lead compounds. In particular, machine learning approaches afford the prospect of harnessing the tremendous amount of data (“big data”) generated by high throughput drug discovery campaigns. The complexity of drug discovery derives from the sheer diversity of chemicals that must be explored to identify molecular features that satisfy the stringent requirements needed to become an approved drug. As opposed to ad hoc intuitive approaches traditionally used, machine learning enables the automated exploration of the chemical space in an efficient and quantifiable fashion. Machine learning thus has the potential to manifestly augment expensive laboratory experiments by learning an accurate model of prospective drug activities. However, any brute force search algorithm that evaluates every molecule would take an astronomical amount of computer time, even on modern supercomputers. To solve this problem, we assembled a team of computer scientists, mathematicians, chemists and microbiologists from Université Laval and Université de Montréal with the hope to fundamentally


change the drug discovery process. This team is currently supported by the Consortium Québécois sur la Découverte du Médicament and two major pharmaceutical companies. Already, I have developed novel machine learning optimization algorithms and demonstrated their effectiveness by uncovering new antimicrobial lead compounds. I have focused on a class of compounds called peptides, which mimic natural protein sequences and can interact with target proteins to alter their function. As part of my postdoctoral fellowship, I will create cyclic-peptide and derive molecular scaffolds to enable the in silico evolution and design of optimal molecules. These approaches will be applied to enzyme-substrate interactions in the ubiquitin-proteasome system that are implicated in cancer, infection and immunity and neurological disorders, among other diseases. This research will expedite the expensive process of molecular design with new computational models based on machine learning, and therefore has the potential to accelerate the early stage drug discovery. A cross-language investigation of word segmentation by bilinguals: Preliminary results Annie Gilbert, McGill University, CRBLM An extensive body of research on word segmentation across languages has shown that different languages rely on different cues and strategies to segment meaningful units from the speech stream. These cross-language differences make segmentation difficult for L2 learners, and some previous work showed that bilingual speakers tend to keep applying their L1 segmentation cues to the L2. But bilingual experience varies a great deal, even within a bilingual community, so one might ask if such a pattern applies across all bilinguals regardless of language proficiency, dominance, or everyday use. To investigate this, we designed a cross-modal priming task in which a wide range of English-French bilinguals listened to English and French sentences with ambiguous syllable strings containing either two monosyllabic words (e.g. key we) or one bisyllabic word (e.g. kiwi), produced with context-specific natural prosody. A picture prompt representing either the first monosyllabic word (e.g. a key), or the bisyllabic word (e.g. a kiwi) was presented at the offset of the first syllable of the ambiguous region. Each sentence was presented paired with each picture. Preliminary analyses of a subgroup of English-dominant participants show that they process French and English ambiguous strings differently, and that their segmentation schemes seem to vary with L2 proficiency.


Between tourism and migration: Lifestyle migration and its application Zainub Ibrahim, Université de Montréal International migration is growing at a phenomenal rate, and researchers are increasingly interested in understanding migration and classifying the characteristics of different types of migration. The literature on migration has traditionally been separate from that on tourism. The significance of tourism has received little attention within the literature on migration (Hall & Williams, 2002), but the gap is starting to narrow as the two concepts converge into lifestyle migration. However, to claim that defining tourism and migration is complex would be an understatement as each of these terms on their own has a wide array of definitions, categorizations, and applications that are left largely subjective to individual interpretations. This results in a synergy of complexity resulting from attempting to define these terms and their relationships with one another. Mobility can be categorized in different ways based on its application such as: temporally vs. spatially, nationally vs. internationally, and forced vs. voluntary. These categorizations stress the different types of migration and highlight their vast array of applications. Similarly, defining tourism differs based upon the context, and as Smith (1988) sums up the situation: “a single, comprehensive, and widely accepted definition of tourism is beyond the hope of realization. Practitioners must learn to accept the myriad of definitions and to understand and respect the reasons for those differences” (Smith, 1988: 180). In this paper we introduce the main concepts used in studies about migration and tourism, and demonstrate how some of the terms and definitions have been developed haphazardly. We then demonstrate how complex it is to define lifestyle migration, and suggest that due to the complexity of this concept, a multidimensional framework for defining lifestyle migration is more appropriate than a descriptive definition. Subsequently, we gather some characteristics common in cases of lifestyle migration into a framework and apply it to the case of the Quebecois lifestyle migrants in Florida, which we find we are able to do with relative ease. Based on our analysis we conclude that this does in fact represent a case of lifestyle migration. Our study is based on a review of the literature and semi-structured in-depth interviews with Quebecois migrants to Florida. Identification et validation fonctionnelle de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques chez les patients leucémiques en rechute dans le cadre de l’étude de faisabilité TRICEPS Fida Khater, Université de Montréal, Charles- Bruneau / Hôpital Sainte Justine La Leucémie Aiguë Lymphoblastique (LAL) est le cancer pédiatrique le plus commun, représentant 25% de tous les cancers diagnostiqués chez les enfants et adolescents. Les avancées dans l’état de nos connaissances sur la pathobiologie de cette maladie ont mené au développement de protocoles de traitements adaptés au pronostic ainsi qu’à des taux de survie à long terme excédent les 80%. Malgré ces progrès, environ 20% des patients ne répondent pas aux traitements classiques, et plus de 2/3 des survivants présentent des effets secondaires liés à la toxicité du traitement. La rechute des patients atteints de la leucémie pédiatrique représente toujours la cause principale de mortalité chez les enfants. De plus, aucun progrès significatif n’a été noté au cours de la dernière décennie pour les patients réfractaires aux traitements ou en rechute. De nouvelles technologies, en l’occurrence le


séquençage de nouvelle génération (NGS), offrent aujourd’hui des opportunités sans précédent pour caractériser d’une façon plus exhaustive le génome tumoral afin d’identifier de nouvelles altérations génomiques impliquées dans le l’émergence de la maladie. Mon projet de recherche s’insère dans un contexte plus général de l’étude de faisabilité TRICEPS lancée en avril 2014 au CHU Sainte-Justine, et qui vise à caractériser le profil mutationnel tumoral pour chaque patient réfractaire au traitement ou en rechute, via un séquençage intégratif du matériel tumoral et de sa contrepartie normale dans le but de proposer une stratégie thérapeutique ciblée et personnalisée. Mes travaux de recherche visent à mettre en évidence, chez les patients présentant une LAL et recrutés entre autres pour cette étude, de nouvelles anomalies moléculaires coopérants (VUS : Variant of Unknown Siginificance) non connues pour leurs impacts fonctionnels dans l’émergence de la leucémie et la résistance aux traitements et de les valider fonctionnellement. La mise en évidence de nouvelles cibles thérapeutiques actionnables aurait un impact direct sur la prise en charge des patients et les stratégies thérapeutiques entreprises. Simulation based assessment of limited sampling strategies’ reliability in the estimation of the area under the concentration-time curve Leila Kheibarsheklan Asl, Université de Montréal, Faculté de Pharmacie The area under the plasma drug concentration-time curve (AUC), representing the total drug exposure over time, is a common pharmacokinetic (PK) surrogate to inform the issue of therapy. Reliability of its estimation highly depends on the frequency of blood sampling. To reduce the cost and inconvenience of blood withdrawal, limited sampling strategies (LSS) have been proposed, with two main approaches for their development and implementation, whether the multiple linear regression-based LSS (R-LSS) or the Bayesian-based LSS (B-LSS). Regardless of the method used, evaluation of the predictive capacity of LSS is critical. Transferring an LSS between different clinical settings is an overlooked aspect, threatening thus the extension of its informed use. In the current paper, we study the reliability of a chosen LSS by proposing a hybrid approach that takes advantage of both R-LSS and B-LSS to analyze its robustness and success rate. The impact of variability on the LSS reliability is also investigated. As a result, we were able to show that our method enhances the selection of the best LSS and informs the associated risk to their transferability. This simulation-based methodology should be added to routine procedures of LSS development to complement traditional validations.


CD271 directly inhibits human and mouse T CELL function Charles-Étienne Lebert-Ghali1, 2*, Carole Bonkoungou1, Marilaine Fournier1, and Heather Melichar1, 3 1Division of Immunology-Oncology, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada; 2Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada and 3Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Charles-Étienne Lebert-Ghali, Université de Montréal, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre Co-signaling molecules are essential modulators of the immune system. These co-signaling molecules belong to the immunoglobulin and tumor necrosis factor receptor super families (IgSF and TNFRSF, respectively). Despite intensive study of these protein families, the functions and binding partners for many IgSF and TNFRSF members remain largely unknown. In particular, CD271 (NGFR, p75 neurotrophin receptor, and TNFRSF16) is expressed on neural crest-derived cells, several immunomodulatory cell types including mesenchymal stromal cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, as well as on diverse cancers cells. Yet, little is known about its immunomodulatory properties. Given its expression on several immune-regulatory cell types and newly described interaction with human CD80, we hypothesized that CD271 may directly and/or indirectly modulate T cell function. Indeed, in vitro stimulation of purified mouse and human T cells in the presence of recombinant CD271-Fc protein inhibits T cell activation, proliferation, and cytokine production in a CD80-independent manner. Together, these results demonstrate that CD271 directly modulates T cell function, and our continuing work to determine its ligands and the physiological role of CD271 on immunomodulatory cell types may inform therapeutic approaches in autoimmunity and cancer. This work has been supported by the Cole Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society. Long term test and numerical simulation of the developing process of tall building raft rebar stress Li Yaokun1, Han Xiaolei2, Khaled Galal1, Ji Jing2 (1. Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 2W1, Canada; 2. School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Guangdong, Guangzhou 510641, China)

Yaokun Li, Université Concordia Raft foundation is commonly used in tall buildings. For the heavy load of the superstructure, the raft is usually very thick and the amount of reinforcement is large, which leads to high cost and complicate construction. In order to get the best behaved and most cost-efficient design plan, it’s quite important to fully understand the mechanical properties of the raft. In order to deeply study the mechanical properties of the raft, a long term test was carried out during the construction process of a tall building project. Load cells were augmented in the shallow layer soil and on the raft rebars to monitor the soil and raft rebar stress. Results show that: 1) raft rebar stress increased fast in the early stage of construction, but changes slowly later and even decreased to some


degree; 2) when the structure was completed, tension stress of rebar was just about 1/10 of its strength. Test results indicate that the reinforcement of the raft is quite conservative. To explain the phenomenon unveiled by the long term test, a numerical model of the rigid-pile treated ground-raft foundation-superstructure system of the tall building was established, a construction process simulation was done. By comparison between the calculation and the test results, and referring to physical concepts, conclusions can be drawn that: 1) the stiffness of the raft is small at the early stage of construction, which leads to fast increase of overall bending moment; 2) bonding between the raft rebar and the concrete is weak at the early stage of construction, so the rebar bears most of the tension, which leads to fast increase of the tension stress; 3) the raft concrete under tension remains elastic when the structure is completed, which enables the concrete to bear most of the bending moment and thus the rebar tension stress is small; 4) there are strict safety demands for the foundation of tall building, therefore the beneficial effects of tension concrete should not be considered and a conservative method should be used in the designing practice. Keywords: tall building raft foundation rigid-pile treated ground, rebar stress, tension concrete Innovating for food security in Small Island Developing States Kristen Lowitt, McGill University Achieving food security is a pressing global development challenge and the second UN sustainable development goal. In this paper, we focus on new approaches to achieving food security in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). SIDS face a unique set of food security vulnerabilities arising from a combination of their coastal geography and small size. These include weak domestic food systems, inequities in global trade, and susceptibility to climate change. We draw on research undertaken in four Caribbean SIDS to examine the factors influencing the capacity of actors and institutions in the ago-food system to adapt and respond to these challenges. We find that a pervasive lack of trust among actors and institutions, combined with disjointed approaches to addressing food security, is hindering collective action towards food security goals in Caribbean SIDS. We argue that more decentralized governance approaches capable of building social capital and enhancing knowledge flows among a wide range of actors throughout the agro-food system, including food producers and harvesters, citizens, scientists, and policymakers, will be crucial to supporting the institutional innovations necessary for achieving SIDS food security. We provide concrete examples of what this could look like, drawing on recent models of innovation and change from international food security research, relevant theories from the fields of education and participatory action research, and examples from fieldwork.


Mechanisms underlying neurovascular coupling dysfunction and amyloid accumulation in a murine model of arterial stiffness M. Florencia Lulita1, Diane Vallerand2, Gervais Muhire2, Maud Gratuze3, Franck R. Petry3, Emmanuel Planel3 and Hélène Girouard1 1Département de Neurosciences, Université de Montreal, Montreal, Canada ; 2Département de Pharmacologie, Université de Montreal, Montreal, Canada ; 3Département de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec, Canada

Florencia Lulita, Université de Montréal Arterial stiffness is a major risk factor for cognitive dysfunction and dementia in the elderly. It refers to the reduced capability of an artery to dampen pulsatile flow from ventricular ejection. When large arteries loose elasticity, the subsequent increased pulsatility induces downstream vascular remodelling and decreases the capacity of small vessels to dilate, limiting oxygen delivery to the brain and clearance of waste products and toxic proteins. Recent studies have found associations between arterial hardening and brain amyloid burden (a hallmark of Alzheimer’s pathology) in non-demented older adults. Although arterial stiffness increases with age and is associated to high systolic blood pressure its effects on the brain remain poorly understood. This study investigated the effects of arterial stiffness on cerebral blood flow, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and amyloid and tau accumulation. Arterial stiffness was induced by the periadventitial application of CaCl2 0.3M on the right carotid (20 min) of C57BL/6 male mice aged 10-12 weeks. Control mice received 0.9% NaCl. Animals were sacrificed 3 weeks after surgery. The CNS levels of Aβ and tau were quantified by ELISA and Western blotting, respectively. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was monitored by laser-Doppler flowmetry in anesthetised mice equipped with a cranial window. The integrity of the BBB was assessed by measuring sodium fluorescein brain extravasation. Preliminary results show that arterial stiffness induces a shift in the Aβ40/Aβ42 ratio in the frontal cortex without affecting tau phosphorylation. Arterial stiffness also attenuated the CBF response to whisker stimulation or to the topical application of the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine. Analysis of BBB permeability and cerebral autoregulation are underway. These initial results show that arterial stiffness has an impact on cerebral homeostasis and should be considered as a target to protect the brain. Interdisciplinary perspectives on the role and significance of empathy in organizational ethics Joé Martineau, Université de Montréal, IRCM The notion of empathy is the object of multidisciplinary perspectives, and many authors, from research fields as diverse as psychology, psychiatry, sociology, philosophy, and more recently neuroscience, have studied empathy, offering multiple definitions and lines of inquiry. In general terms, empathy is commonly understood as “the vicarious experiencing of an emotion that is congruent with, but not necessarily identical to the emotion of another individual” (Barnett, 1987, p. 146). However, detailed definitions and views on empathy are relatively far from consensual and still fragmented. It is in the spirit to achieve greater integration that we propose, in this presentation, an interdisciplinary approach to synthesize knowledge and stress the significance of empathy and emotions in ethical decision-making, reflection, and behavior in the context of organizations. Indeed, we believe that a series of


interdisciplinary convergences found in literature allow us to increase and deepen our understanding of empathy and its implication for organizational ethics, an approach that corresponds to the naturalist philosophy of Dewey (1922), who insisted on the significance of an interdisciplinary study of morality. First, insights and convergences from diverse bodies of literature are presented on the difference bewteen emotional and cognitive empathy, and on the role of emotions in ethical decision-making. We then present five levels of significance of empathy in organizational ethics: 1) empathy allows for a more informed decision-making in contexts of complexity; 2) empathy is a skill of ethical managers; 3) empathy is a prerequisite to moral engagement; 4) empathy is a rampart against a cold, impersonal and dehumanized business; and 5) empathy is an essential aspect of efficient organizations. Finally, we present recommendations for practice and ethics education. Ultimately, our goal is to highlight the potential of an interdisciplinary reflection on empathy and emotions, including evidence from the field of neuroscience, to inform business ethics. In doing so, this presentation builds bridges between social neuroscience and (organizational) ethics, thus contributing to the field of neuroethics. Optimisation de l'ordonnanceur dynamique de la plateforme Notixia Mahmoud Mohanna, École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) Dans la plupart des environnements industriels, les approches classiques d’ordonnancement sont rarement capables de prendre en considération l’information en temps réel, qui est de plus en plus présent dans différents systèmes de gestion d’entreprise. L’évolution d’une approche statique vers une approche dynamique permet d’améliorer la performance de l’ordonnancement. Dans ce contexte, une ré-planification complète pour trouver à nouveau la solution optimale est souvent nécessaire. L’utilisation d’approches méta heuristiques pour résoudre le problème d’ordonnancement dynamique est privilégiée dans ce projet. Ce projet de recherche postdoctorale vise à analyser en profondeur les fonctionnalités et les limites de l’ordonnanceur de la plateforme Notixia, et à proposer des solutions de nature algorithmique, architecturale et/ou au niveau de l'implémentation, pour améliorer la performance de l’ordonnanceur. Le projet apportera une contribution significative aux méthodes d’optimisation, en particulier leur application aux problèmes d’ordonnancement. Enfin, le passage vers un ordonnancement dynamique pour la solution PLM/ERP Notixia permettra non seulement de maintenir la confiance des clients existants et répondre à leurs besoins spécifiques, mais aussi de réponde à de nouveaux clients dont les aléas sont fréquents. Plus précisément, les objectifs du projet de recherche sont : 1. de rendre le système plus efficace, surtout avec un nombre élevé de bons de travail afin d’attirer

plus de clients ayant plein de bons de travail à s’ordonnancer (jusqu’à 3000 bons de travail ou plus). 2. D’avoir une solution initiale rapidement notamment pour une grande taille de bons de travail.


3. Optimiser l’utilisation des ressources informatiques surtout la mémoire. Même si c’est au-delà du moteur d’ordonnancement, le problème de la consommation excessive des ressources impact négativement l’efficacité de l’algorithme d’ordonnancement.

Afin de réaliser ces objectifs, le projet de recherche passe par les trois étapes suivantes : 1. L’étude de la littérature et de l’état actuel de l’ordonnanceur (déjà fait). 2. Apporter des modifications sur la plateforme existante pour avoir des améliorations rapides

(solution à court terme). Des améliorations considérables sont déjà atteintes à cet égard. Après avoir implémenté ses modifications, le système sera évalué à niveau (en cours).

3. Le développement et l’implémentation d’un nouvel algorithme d’ordonnancement, si cette option est jugée faisable (solution à long terme). (à faire au besoin).

Triglycerides and carbohydrates metabolism in PCSK9 NULL MICE Emilienne Tudor NGO SOCK1, 2 and Gaétan MAYER1, 2, 3 1 Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, Montreal Heart Institute, Montréal, QC, Canada ; 2 Department of pharmacology and 3 medicine, Faculty of medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

Emilienne Tudor Ngo Sock, Université de Montréal, Institut de Cadiologie de Montréal (ICM) Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) enhances hepatic low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) degradation resulting in increased plasma LDL cholesterol (LDLc) level. In contrast, reduced PCSK9 activity increases liver LDLR level resulting in lower plasma LDLc concentration and a strong reduction of coronary heart disease risk. However, understanding how the reduction of PCSK9 activity modifies triglycerides and carbohydrates metabolism has received little attention. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular basis of triglycerides and glucose metabolism in Pcsk9 knockout (Pcsk9-/-) male mice. At twelve weeks of age, body weight (26.47±0.27g vs 24.86±0.47g) and liver (0.99±0.01g vs 0.90±0.02g), muscles (0.14±0.00g vs 0.11±0.01g) and perigonadal fat (0.51±0.03g vs 0.36±0.02g) weight as well as liver triglycerides content (63.21±10.64 vs 24±5.10 mg/g) were significantly (p˂ 0.05) higher in Pcsk9-/- mice compared to wild type mice. Intraperitoneal glucose and insulin tolerance tests demonstrated reduced (p˂ 0.01) glucose clearance in Pcsk9-/- mice suggesting an impairment of glucose tolerance and signs of insulin resistance. In Pcsk9-

/- mice, Western blots revealed an increase of CD36, which is involved in long-chain fatty acids uptake, in perigonadal fat as well as reduced hepatic scavenger receptor class B member 1 (SR-B1) while no change was observed for LRP1 and SREBP-1 and 2 protein levels. Taken together, our results suggest that PCSK9 has an important role in triglycerides and glucose metabolism likely by modulating other lipid receptor such as CD36. Results of this study could help to prevent potential side effects in hypercholesterolemic patients treated with an anti-PCSK9 therapy.


Neuroligin-1 transcription is regulated by core clock transcription factors Emma O’Callaghan1,4, Erika Bélanger-Nelson1, Nicolas Cermakian2, Jean-Martin Beaulieu3, Valérie Mongrain1,4

Emma O’Callaghan, Université de Montréal, Molecular Sleep and Physiology Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, Hospital Sacre Coeur 1Center for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine and Research Center, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Montreal; 2Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal; 3Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec and Université Laval, Quebec; 4Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal Introduction: The postsynaptic adhesion molecule Neuroligin-1 (NLGN1) regulates glutamatergic transmission, some forms of learning and the distribution and intensity of sleep. However, little is known regarding the transcriptional regulation of the Nlgn1 gene. We observed that Nlgn1 is rhythmically expressed across the sleep/wake cycle in the mouse forebrain, suggesting regulation by elements of the circadian system. In addition, the Nlgn1 gene contains a canonical E-box that is bound by the transcription factors CLOCK and BMAL1 as a function of time-of-day. The aim of this study was to verify the contribution of specific clock elements to Nlgn1 expression both in vivo and in vitro. Methods: 1) The expression patterns of Nlgn1 mRNA and NLGN1 protein were examined in the forebrain of adult male ClockΔ19 mutant mice by qPCR and Western Blot analysis, respectively. 2) Luciferase assays were performed in COS-7 cells to assess the transcriptional regulation of Nlgn1 by CLOCK/BMAL1 and their homologs. This was also performed with the addition of GSK3β, as it responds to neuronal activity and negatively regulates CLOCK and BMAL1. Results: 1) ClockΔ19 mice show significant alterations in rhythmic expression of Nlgn1 in the forebrain compared to wild-type mice. A similar tendency was observed for NLGN1 protein. 2) Significant transcriptional activation of Nlgn1 by CLOCK/BMAL1 was observed in vitro, and this was significantly inhibited by GSK3β. Conclusion: These data suggest that circadian regulators are contributing to the sleep/wake-dependent regulation of Nlgn1 expression.

Use of natural fibers to improve characteristics of recycled plastics for packaging purposes Wendy Rodriguez Castellanos, Université Laval, CERMA Due to their low-cost and high performance, plastics derived from petroleum, have been used in daily life in a multitude of products, which has caused over the years a significant environmental problem. In recent years, there has been an interest to develop materials from natural sources to substitute plastics derived from petroleum, however, due to their higher cost, the problem of production and use of conventional plastics has continued. So that the use of post-consumed plastics to produce packaging


materials, is a suitable alternative to solve the problem, along with the use of natural fibers as reinforcement. Natural fibers such as jute, coir, hemp, and flax fiber, have been studied as reinforcing agents and dimensional stability agents in virgin plastics, 1–4 and more recently in some recycled plastics 5–7. However, to obtain a material with adequate properties for their use in a system composed by natural and synthetic materials, is not trivial, especially with recycled plastics. This is caused by compatibility problems that can be resolved partially by additives or surface treatment of fibers, increasing the cost of production. By mixing two or more fibers in the same recycled plastic and using different size of them, is possible to obtain a material with properties adequate for packaging. In the same way, studying the processing parameters, can help to optimize the production and final properties of the materials. The first part of the project was to study the fiber parameters in a virgin plastic, and the second step will be in post-consumed plastic. 1. Wambua, P., Ivens, J., Verpoest, I. N. Compos. Sci. Technol. 63, 1259–1264 (2003). 2. Jayavani, S., Harekrishna, D., Varghese, T. O., Nayak, S. K. Polym. Compos. 1–14 (2015). 3. Yan, L., Chouw, N., Jayaraman, K. Compos. Part B Eng. 56, 296–317 (2014). 4. Fang, H., Zhang, Y., Deng, J., Rodrigue, D. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 127, 942–949 (2013). 5. Ramezani Kakroodi, A., Leduc, S., Rodrigue, D. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 124, 2494–2500 (2012). 6. Kazemi, Y., Cloutier, A., Rodrigue, D. Polym. Compos. 34, 487–493 (2013). 7. Noorunnisa Khanam, P., AlMaadeed, M. Mater. Des. 60, 532–539 (2014). Tapiskwan: le patrimoine comme force d’avenir en milieu autochtone Solen Roth, Université de Montréal, Laboratoire Design et cultures matérielles Pour les Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok, la pérennisation culturelle est un enjeu de toute première importance. Cependant, comme pour la plupart des Premières Nations, la transmission intergénérationnelle de leurs savoirs et savoir-faire a été grandement fragilisée par divers processus coloniaux: sédentarisation sur une portion minuscule de leur territoire, pensionnats visant explicitement l’assimilation culturelle, accès aux matières premières limité par l’exploitation industrielle… Et pourtant, aînés, artisans et passeurs culturels ne baissent pas les bras, et veulent trouver de nouveaux moyens d’assurer le transfert de leurs compétences et connaissances aux jeunes générations. C’est pour cela que des membres de la Nation Atikamekw et des chercheurs de l’Université de Montréal (École de design, HEC) travaillent ensemble afin de mettre sur pied un projet visant la pérennisation du patrimoine atikamekw dans une perspective de développement durable. Ce projet de recherche-action, intitulé Tapiskwan, propose ainsi de créer un trait d’union entre patrimoine et innovation en revisitant le symbolisme ancestral atikamekw dans la confection de produits contemporains. En effet, l’iconographie qui orne l’artisanat d’écorce de boulot et de peau d’orignal a été identifiée comme un élément culturel fort, propice à l’affirmation culturelle et au développement


socioéconomique. Cet héritage graphique constitue en soi une ressource culturelle renouvelable dont la réinterprétation par de nouvelles techniques et médiums permet de contourner le problème de l’accès aux matières premières traditionnelles. Ainsi, guidés dans leur apprentissage par des aînés et artisans de leur communauté, ainsi que par des anthropologues et designers professionnels, des jeunes atikamekw examinent les objets créés par leurs ancêtres et y puisent de l’inspiration pour la création de nouveaux objets destinés à la vente. Pour assurer la réussite du projet sur le long terme, il est important d’imaginer un nouveau modèle de gestion du patrimoine et d’entreprenariat culturel adapté aux réalités locales et reflétant les modes de vie atikamekw. C’est à la réalisation de cet objectif que travaille Solen Roth, anthropologue et stagiaire au postdoctorale, au sein d’une équipe qui met le design, l’anthropologie, la gestion, et les savoir et savoir-faire autochtones au service des objectifs de ses partenaires de la Nation Atikamekw. Differential Expression and Subcellular Localization of MK5, ERK3 and ERK4 in Cardiac Fibroblasts and Myocytes Pramod Sahadevan1,2, Sherin Ali Nawaito1,3, Fatiha Sahmi1, Louis R Villeneuve1, MatthiasGaestel5, Bruce G Allen1,2,4; 1Montreal Heart Institute, Montréal, QC, Canada, 2Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, 3Department of Physiology, 4Department of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada, 5Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Pramod Sahadevan, Université de Montréal, Montreal Heart Institute, Montréal, QC, Canada Introduction. MAP kinase-activated protein kinase-5 (MK5) was originally discovered as target of p38 MAPK. Subsequent studies suggested that MK5 activity is regulated by atypical MAPKs ERK3/4 (Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase 3/4). The physiological role of MK5, in addition to the mechanisms regulating its activity and subcellular localization, remain controversial. MK5 mRNA is highly expressed in heart. Both ERK3 and MK5 haploinsufficient mice show reduced cardiac collagen expression following pressure overload and scar rupture was more frequent in MK5 haploinsufficient mice following myocardial ischemia. Thus, ERK3-MK5 signalling may play a role in fibrosis. The present study was to determine the expression and subcellular localization of ERK3, ERK4, and MK5 in cardiac fibroblasts and myocytes. Methods. Cardiac fibroblasts from MK5+/+, MK5+/- and MK5-/- mice and freshly isolated adult mouse cardiac myocytes were used. siRNA knock-down, Real-time qPCR, Western blot, Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy techniques were used. Results and discussion. In actively dividing cardiac fibroblasts, MK5 and ERK4 were observed in the nucleus whereas ERK3 was cytoplasmic. A similar pattern of immunoreactivity and subcellular distribution was observed in passage numbers 0-3 in fibroblasts from MK5+/+, MK5+/- and MK5-/- mice. Furthermore, in contrast to other cell systems, in cardiac fibroblasts ERK3 was not destabilized by the absence of MK5, suggesting the possible presence of an unidentified binding partner in these cells. Reduced levels of ERK4 immunoreactivity in MK5-/- fibroblasts suggests a role for MK5 in determining the expression or stability of ERK4 in these cells. Interestingly, in spite of having comparable amounts


of MK5 mRNA and a 2-fold greater abundance of ERK3 mRNA, MK5 and ERK3 immunoreactivity was negligible in myocytes. In contrast, ERK4 immunoreactivity was greater in myocytes. These observations suggest ERK3, ERK4, and MK5 play cell specific roles in the heart. Galangin override the survival cues signal triggered by bDNA on human neutrophils Everton Santos, Université de Montréal, Research Center of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital The inflammatory response is a mechanism essential to control infection and maintenance of homeostasis. The first cells to arrive to the inflammatory focus are neutrophils that destroy the invading pathogens. Under physiologic conditions, neutrophils undergo apoptosis once their function has been fulfilled. However, during persisting inflammatory conditions bacterial constituents such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or bacterial DNA (bDNA) as well as cytokines extend survival of neutrophils by delaying apoptosis. Neutrophils can provoke destruction tissue and amplify the inflammation. Recent works have showed that induction of neutrophil apoptosis is a good strategy to control inflammation. The flavonoid galangin has been identified as a potent anti-inflammatory agent in asthma and arthritis models; however its effects on neutrophil apoptosis have not been reported yet. We hypothesized that galangin could modify the survival of neutrophils activated by ligation of TLR9. Galangin is found in the propolis of different parts of world and in the Alpinia officinarum, where its rhizome is frequently used in Chinese Medicine. Our initial data showed that this compound neither was toxic nor induced apoptosis in human neutrophil. bDNA suppresses neutrophil apoptosis, however, cells pretreated with galangin did not delay apoptosis triggered by bDNA. Likewise, when cells were first challenged with a TLR9 agonist and then treated with galangin the anti-apoptosis effect of bDNA was reversed. The effects of galangin involved decreased Mcl-1 expression, phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, Erk1/2 and Akt. Galangin reduction of phosphorylation of proteins involved in anti-apoptotic signaling was sufficient to override the survival cues signal triggered by bDNA and LPS. Our results open a new perspective for using galangin in the therapy of infections. Additional studies are required to further characterize its mechanism of action in vitro and its effects in animal model. Dark Microglia: A Newly Described Phenotype Present in Human Tissue Julie C Savage, Kanchan Bisht, Martin Parent, and Marie-Eve Tremblay

Julie Savage, Université Laval Microglia, the brain’s resident immune cells, were first described by Hortega in 1900, and have been subject to much scientific debate and study since. New tools have revolutionized the field of microglial biology and determined that microglia are derived from yolk-sac macrophages (not peripherally derived as previously thought). Our work recently uncovered a new murine microglial phenotype that is rarely present in the healthy CNS, but becomes increasingly abundant during chronic stress, aging,


and Alzheimer’s disease pathology. While they display similar ultrastructure to microglia, they also exhibit signs of oxidative stress including remodeling of nuclear chromatin and a very electron-dense cytoplasm and nucleoplasm, making them appear “dark.” These dark microglia contact synaptic clefts, axons, and dendritic spines with higher frequency than normal microglia, and express myeloid cell markers IBA1 and CD11b. As a follow-up to our murine studies, we investigated human tissue made available via our collaboration with Dr Martin Parent to determine if dark microglia are present in the human CNS. Indeed, we present data demonstrating for the first time that these “dark microglia” are also present in aged human tissue and display many of the same characteristics, including synaptic contacts and highly ramified and thin processes, as those previously found in murine CNS. Molecular Interaction sites between Kv4.3 and DPP6: Biochemical Anatomy of Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation Authors: Nazlee Sharmin1, Peter J. Mohler2 and Stanley Nattel1 1Montreal Heart Institute and McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; 2Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, US.

Nazlee Sharmin, McGill University, Montreal Heart Institute Sudden cardiac death in the absence of identifiable heart disease is known as Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation (IVF). Previous studies from our lab have identified crucial roles of a β subunit, DPP6, in Purkinje fiber Ito and of DPP6 gene variants causing Ito gain-of-function in IVF initiation from the cardiac Purkinje system. However, little is known about the molecular basis of DPP6 interaction with Kv4.3: which is the objective of this study. We have developed a computational model of interaction between Kv4.3 and its two principal β subunits, KChIP2 and DPP6, using AutoDock Vina. The model predicts the binding sites between these proteins and the Ito α-subunit Kv4.3. Model predictions were verified by expressing the wild type and engineered mutant subunits in HEK cells followed by current measurement by patch clamp after 48 hours of transfection. The model identifies the N-terminal region and a positively charged zone on Kv4.3 as key interaction sites with DPP6. In our experimental results, wildtype Kv4.3 showed substantial current enhancement upon co-expression with DPP6, as previously reported. Deletion of the Kv4.3 N-terminal region prevented the Kv4.3 current-enhancing effect of DPP6. Neutralization of the 3 positively charged Kv4.3 amino acids predicted to be in the DPP6 interaction-region by alanine mutation substantially enhanced the current-increase when Kv4.3 was co-expressed with DPP6. Conclusions: Our results indicate that Kv4.3 interacts with DPP6 via docking involving the N-terminal and crucial positively-charged amino acids. These results provide insights into the biochemical anatomy of IVF and may help to develop effective molecularly-targeted blockers for patients with IVF-inducing DPP6 gain-of-function.


Towards the Understanding and Reduction of Friction at Joints Buddha Ratna Shrestha1*, Jimmy Faivre1, Xavier Banquy1; 1 Laboratory of Biomaterials and Interfaces, Department of Pharmacy

Buddha Ratna Shrestha, Université de Montréal Already 10% of the Canadian are affected from Osteoarthritis, a disease resulting from cartilage degradation. Thus Osteoarthritis is of paramount concern today. The best treatment is the “viscosupplementation”, a treatment in which a patient is supplied with one of the important synovial fluid (hyaluronic acid) into the joints. The treatment works to a certain degree i.e. is able to reduce the pain due to friction but we definitely need better supplement for its treatment. So the objective of the current work is to find better supplement for the treatment of osteoarthritis. If the polymer can remain intact with the surfaces while sliding them at high pressure, the friction can be reduced to a significant amount. Therefore, the thickness of materials that remains between the surfaces is very important to have low friction coefficient. Surface force apparatus (SFA) is a powerful technique with sub-angstrom resolution in thickness. Thus, we used SFA to have the direct insight into the thickness of the material at the interface that is present during various compressions. Hence, we have studied the properties of a new type of linear bottle brush like polymer and found significant improvement over the state of the art treatment in terms of compressions studies. Further, the friction studies while sliding will be conducted and real comparison can be done with the state of the art treatment. Neuro-like phenotype in chemoresistant triple negative breat cancer Isabelle Sirois, McGill University, Lady Davis Institute TNBC (triple negative breast cancers) account for 15-20% of breast cancer cases and are characterized by the lack of expression of ER, PR and HER2. They are treated with conventional chemotherapy, but the success of this treatment cannot be predicted. The neoadjuvant treatment of TNBC patients frequently comprise of 2 consecutive cycles of chemotherapy with Doxorubicin (DOXO) and Paclitaxel (PTX). 30-40% of TNBC patients will relapse after this treatment. Understanding therapy resistance would spare the suffering of many patients and could help to identify a subgroup for which the search for alternative treatments should be a priority. We developed resistant variants of MDA-MB-436 TNBC cells by a single 48 hours exposure to DOXO or PTX. Subpopulations isolated and expanded after this treatment were significantly resistant to DOXO (DOXO-R) but not cross resistant to Cisplatin or PTX suggesting that it is unlikely that the underlying mechanism of resistance is related to multidrug transporters. Importantly, DOXO-R cells display a distinct morphology compared to DOXO-sensitive parental cells. Electron microscopy confirmed distinct morphological traits of DOXO-R cells with many features related to cellular stress and neuron morphology. Consistently, pathway analysis of comparative gene expression revealed marked enrichment of 2 functions in DOXO-R cells: cell death and morphology of neurons. Of note, RNA expression of neuron morphology related genes were also


modulated in tumour biopsies of TNBC patients resistant to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Our results suggest that the neuron-like phenotype could be a new hallmark of chemoresistance in TNBC patients. Application of Industrial Engineering Methods to Healthcare Delivery in a Cancer Treatment Center Samuel Suss, Université Concordia, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Cancer is the most common cause of death in Canada. The rate of cancer incidence is growing due to both population growth and to the aging population. Chemotherapy is one of the most commonly used cancer treatment therapies, along with surgery and radiotherapy. Sophisticated treatment methods and improved management of side effects are increasing the demand for chemotherapy, and oncology clinics are experiencing higher workloads that can result in laboratory, pharmacy, and chemotherapy administration delays. Reducing patient waiting times for chemotherapy treatment is one of the highest priorities for quality improvement in outpatient cancer treatment facilities. We undertook a project to address the needs of the Jewish General Hospital’s Segal Cancer Centre towards reducing patient waiting times. This presentation will show how we adapted principles and methods used by industrial engineering in manufacturing industries to improve the functioning of the cancer treatment process, resulting in important reductions in patient waiting time and more uniform workload for clinic staff. Merging technology for possible treatment of Retinoblastoma Seyed Nasrollah Tabatabaei Shafie, Université de Montréal, CHU Sainte Justine Retinoblastoma (Rb) is the most common cancer of the eye in young children. In search of a remedy, we are looking into gene therapy and specific microRNAs (miRNAs). The miRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that affect a vast range of biological processes and they are critical regulators in human disease. While the exact mechanism is not entirely understood, once the miRNAs reach the tumor cells they target various genes and may cause reduction in cell proliferation, survival, and motility. However, despite great progress in pharmacology, delivery of miRNAs to the retinal tissue remains a challenge. This is primarily due to the tightly interconnected endothelial cells that carpet the inner layer of most capillaries in the retinal tissue called the blood-retinal barrier (BRB). Current advances in nanotechnology however could provide the means to overcome this challenge. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have attracted a lot of attention for their theranostic and targeted drug delivery capabilities. In addition, we have previously shown that hyperthermia of MNPs can increase the permeability of the BRB. This provides an opportunity for the two interdisciplinary fields to synergistically focus on a localized, safe, and reversible strategy for delivery of the miRNA to the retinal tissue and the tumor.


This would reduce systemic toxicity, it would allow administration of significantly higher dose of therapeutics directly to the tumor site, would improve tumor growth control, and, thus, would reduce the rate of recurrence and hospitalization. Therefore, the main objective of the current proposal is to develop an intelligent pharmacological approach designed to target and locally treat Rb in an animal model. Phosphodiesterase 8 is a novel regulator of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) in human airway epithelia Mark J. Turner1, Kathy Abbott-Banner2, John W. Hanrahan1; 1 Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada ; 2 Verona Pharma PLC, London, UK

Mark Turner, McGill University, Department of Physiology

The hereditary disease cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations to the gene encoding the plasma membrane anion channel cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). The predominant pathology is observed in the lungs in which impaired CFTR-dependent ion and fluid transport compromises efficient mucociliary clearance resulting in airway bacterial colonization and infection. CFTR is regulated by the cAMP/PKA signalling pathway so one avenue of CF treatment is treating patients with drugs that elevate intracellular cAMP. Cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are a family of enzymes, of which 11 different isoforms have been identified in humans, responsible for cyclic nucleotide breakdown and inhibiting both PDE3 and 4 has been shown to elevate levels of intracellular cAMP and activate CFTR in human airway epithelia. We recently found that human airway epithelia have high mRNA expression of the previously unstudied isoform PDE8, suggesting it may play a role in CFTR regulation. We studied the effect of the specific PDE8 inhibitor, PF-04957325 (PF) on CFTR-dependent changes in short-circuit current (Isc) in primary human bronchial epithelia (pHBE) isolated from wild-type patients. We found that although PF failed to significantly elevate intracellular cAMP levels, it did increase Isc by 2.32 ± 0.95 µA cm-2 (p<0.01 vs. DMSO; n=8) and 1.67 ± 0.44 µA cm-2 (p<0.01 vs. DMSO; n=4) in non-stimulated and forskolin-stimulated cells respectively. Furthermore, PF treatment also enhanced the activation of CFTR by the dual PDE3/4 inhibitor RPL554 3.6 ± 0.6 fold (p<0.01; n=7), suggesting synergistic effects exist between PDE8 and PDE3/4 regulation of CFTR. Finally, we also demonstrated that PF enhanced forksolin-stimulated, CFTR-dependent Isc in pHBE isolated from CF patients. Therefore, these findings identify PDE8 as a novel regulator of CFTR and imply targeting PDE8 could be of potential therapeutic option for the treatment of CF.


Relation entre le seuil d’activation des muscles spastiques et l’excitabilité corticale chez les patients ayant subis un AVC Nicolas Turpin, Université de Montréal, Institut Linday-Gingras, Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of Greater Montreal (CRIR) Les accidents vasculaires cérébraux (AVC) peuvent causer une perte de contrôle des muscles associés aux régions corticales endommagées, générant de la faiblesse musculaire et parfois de la spasticité. La spasticité correspond à l’activation involontaire d’un muscle lors d’un étirement passif. Il a été montré que cette activation involontaire survient à une position seuil, ou longueur d’étirement donnée. Lors de mouvements volontaires, le muscle spastique est étiré lorsqu’il agit en tant qu’antagoniste et la position seuil dans ces conditions est en général supérieure. Ceci est le signe d’une diminution de la spasticité et suggère fortement la présence d’inhibitions. Il est supposé dans cette étude que le cortex moteur est impliqué dans cette l’augmentation de la position seuil. Neuf patients post-AVC présentant de la spasticité ont été recrutés (âge = 39-71 ans). Nous avons mesuré i) la position angulaire seuil (PAS) à laquelle l’activité musculaire au niveau des muscles extenseurs et fléchisseurs du coude apparaît lors de mouvements passifs et lors de mouvements volontaires (actif), ii) l’amplitude et la vitesse maximale du mouvement lors de flexions/extensions volontaires et iii) l’excitabilité cortico-spinale par stimulation magnétique transcranienne (TMS) lorsque le coude est fléchi ou étendu. Une mesure de modulation cortico-spinale a été obtenue par la différence entre l’amplitude des réponses en position étendue et en position fléchie, en contrôlant pour le niveau EMG (via une ANCOVA). Les résultats ont montré que la PAS était plus élevée lors des mouvements volontaires pour les fléchisseurs (127±15° en actif vs. 100±12° en passif ; p<0.001) mais qu’elle était similaire pour les extenseurs (80±28° en passif et 70±30° en actif ; p=0.133). La différence entre PAS actif et PAS passif pour les fléchisseurs était positivement associée à l’amplitude et à la vitesse du mouvement (r=0.898, p<0.002) mais pas à l’excitabilité cortico-spinale (r=0.464 ; p=0.246). Ces résultats suggèrent que l’inhibition conduisant à l’augmentation du seuil d’activation des fléchisseurs (ç.-a-d. à une diminution de la spasticité) lors des mouvements volontaires a un effet bénéfique sur la performance mais qu’elle n’a pas pour origine le cortex moteur contra-latéral. Model-based and model-independent evaluation of steady-state volume of distribution (Vdss): a case study of two-compartmental models with parallel first-order and Michaelis-Menten eliminations Xiaotian Wu, Fahima Nekka and Jun Li, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Montréal, Canada Xiaotian Wu, Université de Montréal Abstract: Vdss is a one of the key pharmacokinetic parameters and non-compartmental analysis (NCA) is widely used in this field. However the general applicability of NCA has been questioned when the drug elimination becomes complex, since NCA is historically derived from the linear compartmental models with elimination from the central compartment. Our central objective in the current paper was


to present an evaluation of methodology to estimate Vdss of drugs exhibiting two-compartmental model structure with parallel first-order and Michaelis-Menten eliminations. To do this, two indistinguishable compartmental models were studied. Their corresponding expressions of steady-state volumes of distribution (Vdss,M1 and Vdss,M2) based on the physiological definition were rigorously derived, and the relationship with their non-compartmental counterparts (Vdss,nca) was mathematically proved indicating its underestimation. Importantly, the actual Vdss of such drugs which is lower bounded by Vdss,M1 and upper bounded by Vdss,M2 was suggested. The results were verified through three pharmacokinetic systems which were published elsewhere: G-CSF, rHuEPO and 5-MeO-DMT. These findings demonstrate the importance of the model structure in the estimation of Vdss and must incite rethinking rational formulation and use of NCA. When workplace aggression hits home: gender differences on the indirect effects of work-family conflicts Biru Zhou, Université de Montréal, Trauma studies centre, Université de Montréal, Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Institut de recherche en santé publique Abusive supervision is a form of workplace aggression which have been closely examined in the past two decades. The present study investigates the gender variations on the relations between abusive supervision, work-family conflicts and mental health issues. The data used in this presentation were collected for a larger study in Canada and aimed to evaluate the contribution of work, family, individual characteristics and social network to worker’s experiences of mental health problems in 63 Canadian workplaces. A subset of the data (n=2058) were used to examine how abusive supervision is related to psychological distress via the influences of work-to-family (family-to-work) conflicts. Multilevel mediation analyses were conducted for men and women separately. Results showed that abusive supervision has a direct impact on individuals' psychological distress. More abusive supervision experienced is related to higher psychological distress. Furthermore, the indirect effect of abusive supervision on psychological distress via work-to-family conflict was significant for women only, whereas the indirect effect of abusive supervision on psychological distress via family-to-work conflicts was significant for men only. In other words, the negative impact of abusive supervision on psychological distress has differential effects for men and women. This is consistent with gender role theory that family roles are more central for women and work roles are more central for men. Therefore, the conflict spillover from work to family is intolerable for women and the conflict spillover from family to work is intolerable for men, which then both lead to higher levels of psychological distress. The current project used frameworks from organizational psychology, public health and gender studies to illustrate the spillover effect of abusive supervision from work to family domain.


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