CorpusUL Université Laval
Not a member yet
24527 research outputs found
Sort by
Optimizing the management of multireservoir systems under shifting flow regimes
No full textOver the past few decades, significant research efforts have been devoted to the development of tools and techniques to improve the operational effectiveness of multireservoir systems. One of those efforts focuses on the incorporation of relevant hydrologic information into reservoir operation models. This effort is particularly relevant in regions characterized by low-frequency climate signals, where time series of river discharges exhibit regime-like behavior. Failure to properly capture such regime-like behavior yields suboptimal operating policies, especially in systems characterized by large storage capacity such as large multireservoir systems. Hidden Markov Modeling is a class of hydrological models that can accommodate both overdispersion and serial dependence in time series, two essential hydrological properties that must be captured when modeling a system where the climate is switching between different states (e.g., dry, normal, and wet). In terms of reservoir operation, Stochastic Dual Dynamic Programming (SDDP) is one of the few optimization techniques that can accommodate both system and hydrologic complexity, that is, a large number of reservoirs and diverse hydrologic information. However, current SDDP formulations are unable to capture the long-term persistence of the streamflow process found in some regions. In this paper, we present an extension of the SDDP algorithm that can handle the long-term persistence and provide reservoir operating policies that explicitly capture regime shifts. Using the Senegal River Basin as a case study, we illustrate the potential gain associated with reservoir operating policies tailored to climate states
Strategies to reduce waiting times in outpatient rehabilitation services for adults with physical disabilities : a systematic literature review
No full textObjective: Identifying effective strategies to reduce waiting times is a crucial issue in many areas of health services. Long waiting times for rehabilitation services have been associated with numerous adverse effects in people with disabilities. The main objective of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review to assess the effectiveness of service redesign strategies to reduce waiting times in outpatient rehabilitation services for adults with physical disabilities.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review, searching three databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL and EMBASE) from their inception until May 2021. We identified studies with comparative data evaluating the effect of rehabilitation services redesign strategies on reducing waiting times. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the studies. A narrative synthesis was conducted.
Results: Nineteen articles including various settings and populations met the selection criteria. They covered physiotherapy (n = 11), occupational therapy (n = 2), prosthetics (n = 1), exercise physiology (n = 1) and multidisciplinary (n = 4) services. The methodological quality varied (n = 10 high quality, n = 6 medium, n = 3 low); common flaws being missing information on the pre-redesign setting and characteristics of the populations. Seven articles assessed access processes or referral management strategies (e.g. self-referral), four focused on extending/modifying the roles of service providers (e.g. to triage) and eight changed the model of care delivery (e.g. mode of intervention). The different redesign strategies had positive effects on waiting times in outpatient rehabilitation services.
Conclusions: This review highlights the positive effects of many service redesign strategies. These findings suggest that there are several effective strategies to choose from to reduce waiting times and help better respond to the needs of persons experiencing physical disabilities
Portrait des entrepreneurs forestiers du Québec 2020-2021
No full textCette étude vise à réaliser un portrait de l’entrepreneur forestier au Québec. L’objectif est de décrire la situation des entrepreneurs forestiers en approfondissant leurs caractéristiques sociodémographiques, le rapport qu’ils entretiennent avec leur travail et les obstacles à leur développement
Evolution of the burden of aortic stenosis by sex in the province of Quebec between 2006 and 2018
No full textObjectives: To evaluate the evolution of the burden of aortic stenosis (AS) by sex in the province of Quebec from 2006-2007 to 2018-2019 and compare the percentage of mortality between people who underwent aortic valve intervention and those who did not.
Methods: Persons aged ≥20 years were identified from the Quebec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System using International Classification of Diseases and intervention codes in the hospital files.
Results: In 2018, the crude prevalence and incidence of AS were 0.89% (99% CI 0.89 to 0.90) (n=59 025) and 1.39 per 1000 (1.35 to 1.43) (n=9105), respectively. Age-standardised prevalence and incidence of AS diagnosis increased between 2006 and 2018 from 0.67% (0.66 to 0.68) to 0.75% (0.74 to 0.76) and from 0.91 per 1000 (0.88 to 0.95) to 1.20 per 1000 (1.17 to 1.23), respectively. Among incident AS, the age-standardised percentage of valve interventions increased from 11.7% (10.9 to 12.6) to 14.5% (13.9 to 15.3). This increase was only observed in men. The 30-day mortality was stable among patients with incident AS treated conservatively, from 6.9% (6.5 to 7.4) to 7.3% (6.9 to 7.6), and decreased from 7.6% (6.1 to 9.3) to 3.8% (3.1 to 4.7) among operated patients with incident AS. This decrease was only observed in women. However, from 2010, the age-adjusted mortality among prevalent AS tended to be higher in women.
Conclusions: In the province of Quebec, age-standardised prevalence and incidence of AS diagnosis increased between 2006 and 2018. Among incident AS, there was an increase in valve intervention in men and a decrease in 30-day mortality in women who underwent valve intervention. Overall and age-standardised mortality remained higher in women
Wood-cement-steatite panels used in replacement of gypsum boards in residential and commercial buildings: contribution to the thermal mass
No full textThis article reports the results of a study carried out to evaluate the influence of wood-cement-steatite partitions on the thermal performance of a small building. The interior walls of two identical 2.0 × 2.5 × 3.0 m experimental wooden frame huts (tiny houses, with one door and one window), designed and built following the National Building Code of Canada, were covered with standard gypsum boards in one case (GB hut) and a combination of gypsum boards and wood-cement-steatite panels in the other case (WCSP hut). The thermal behavior of both huts, located on the campus of Laval University, in Québec (QC), Canada was monitored over a testing period extending from mid-march to the first week of July 2019. Depending on the moment during that period (cold weather, mild weather) and the characteristics being evaluated, the temperature inside the huts was conditioned or not with an electric heater. The following parameters were recorded: outdoor temperature, the temperature inside the two huts, and, when applicable, their electricity consumption. In cold weather, the wood-cement-steatite panels contributed to reducing the electricity consumption by 5.2% over that of the reference GB hut. In mild weather, wood-cement-steatite panels were found to improve the comfort inside the test hut by leveling off the temperature variations, with reductions ranging from 0.3 °C to 3.8 °C. Both the differences in electricity consumption and indoor temperature variations were determined to be statistically significant, with p - values inferior to 0.005. The results generated in this part of the study further strengthen the potential of WCSP as a real alternative to gypsum boards for drywall partitioning in residential and commercial buildings. In addition to their many advantageous constructive properties, such as water resistance, flexural strength, screw withdrawal resistance, and fire resistance, the improvements they could yield in energy efficiency and thermal comfort make it a quite promising partitioning option
Acceptability of videoconferencing to preserve the bond of cognitively impaired long-term care residents with their family caregivers : a mixed-methods study
No full textVisiting restrictions had to be imposed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus and ensure the safety of long-term care home (LTCH) residents. This mixed method study aimed to explore residents’ and family caregivers’ acceptability of electronic tablets used to preserve and promote contact. Semi-structured individual interviews with 13 LTCH residents and 13 family caregivers were done to study their experiences, as well as the challenges and resources encountered in the implementation and use of videoconferencing. They had to rate, on a scale from 0 to 10, each of the 6 Theoretical Framework of Acceptability’ constructs of the acceptability of the intervention. The results confirm acceptability of videoconferencing, giving residents and caregivers the opportunity to talk to and see each other during the pandemic. Videoconferencing had some benefits, such as being less expensive, and taking less time and effort for family caregivers
Archipels
No full textLa métaréflexion porte sur la phase la plus obscure de la construction d'une œuvre : la période d'antériorité du faire. Loin en amont de cette étape de concrétisation, le créateur est assailli par un foisonnement intérieur : flux et émergences se succèdent, s'oblitèrent ou se contrecarrent. La fulgurance de l'image-utopie amorce ce parcours intime. Forte et prégnante, elle impulse le désir de créer. Comme une gangue, elle contient, encore crypté, tout le devenir de l'œuvre. L'image-utopie loge dans le préconscient, en zone protolangagière, et résiste aux conditions de la discursivité. Voilée, mais ponctuée de survenues conscientes, la protostructure de l'œuvre à venir y incube. Au fil de voyagements intérieurs immobiles, l'artiste s'imprègne de cette latence. Aucun observateur extérieur n'a accès à ce moment inaugural de l'expérience de création. Par mûrissement, l'image-utopie se transforme en intention de création. Une fois énoncée, elle marque le seuil de la phase programmatique du faire. Ce segment du parcours de création est notoirement imbriqué dans la morphogénèse de la subjectivation. L'artiste parfait son identité en établissant dans son œuvre des mises en relation inédites. De ce travail de création émane une connaissance intuitive directe, originelle, un savoir issu de l'expérience qui cadre avec l'épistémologie constructiviste. Praticienne, je m'ouvre sur ce vécu impénétrable. Ma réflexion, autodirigée, sous-tend mon effort de conceptualisation. L'œuvre [Archipels], matériau-témoin, est née au fil de résidences en immersion au Mexique. Cette expérience interculturelle et interdisciplinaire a singularisé ma démarche de création. Malgré la persistance de mes interrogations, malgré l'incertitude, je compose avec l'indéfinition et l'inexpliqué qui marquent ma relation au monde. En construisant et en partageant sa vision unique, l'artiste rallie l'humanisme inclusif de la philosophie de la complexité. Cette pensée globalisante accorde toute sa valeur au savoir expérientiel et l'associe dument au renouvèlement, à l'élargissement et à la réunification de la connaissance.This metareflection addresses the most obscure stage of creating a work of art: what comes before doing. Long before the creation stage, creators are besieged with an inner profusion-a succession of flows and elements all emerging, clashing into and obliterating one another. This very personal journey is begun by a powerful, meaningful utopian image that impels the desire to create. Like veinstone, this image harbours the entire future work, in scrambled form. The utopian image resides in the preconscious mind, in the protolanguage zone, and resists discursivity. This is where the work's protostructure incubates, veiled, yet sparking moments of conscious insight. In the course of inner journeys, the artist is steeped in this latency. No outside observer can access this inaugurating moment of the creation experience. As it matures, the utopian image morphs into an intention to create. Once articulated, it has crossed into the programmatic stage of doing. This stretch of the creation journey is unquestionably enmeshed with the morphogenesis of subjectivization. The artist crafts an identity by creating novel relationships in their work. In turn, this creation produces a direct, original, experience-based, intuitive knowledge that connects with constructivist epistemology. As a practitioner, I open myself to this inscrutable experience. My self-directed reflection is the springboard for my conceptualization process. My work of art [Archipels], a material witness of this process, is the result of my immersion residency in Mexico. This intercultural and interdisciplinary experience gave my creation process its unique form. In spite of persistent questioning and uncertainty, I contend with the lack of definition and explanation characterizing my relationship to the world. By building and sharing a unique vision, artists mobilize the inclusive humanism of the philosophy of complexity. This global thinking recognizes the value of experiential knowing and rightfully associates it with the renewal, expansion and reunification of knowledge
Effet du contexte temporel global et de la modalité sensorielle sur la discrimination de courts intervalles temporels présentés dans des séquences rythmiques
No full textLa perception du temps détient une place particulière dans le domaine de la psychophysique. N'ayant aucun organe sensoriel y étant rattaché, les modèles théoriques tentant de l'expliquer reposent sur le postulat que des mécanismes internes, tels que des rythmes biologiques ou encore une « horloge interne » impliquant des processus cognitifs tels que l'attention et la mémoire, permettent la perception du temps. Si les modèles éprouvés permettent d'interpréter et de prédire comment on perçoit et mémorise des durées, peu d'entre eux permettent d'expliquer parcimonieusement comment un patron rythmique est perçu. Jones et McAuley (2005) ont démontré à travers le Dynamic attending model, que la perception d'un patron rythmique est influencée par les caractéristiques de distributions de séquences rythmiques et influence par le fait même la représentation globale de la durée des séquences et, par extension, la perception du rythme. Inspirée de leur recherche, la présente étude a pour but d'observer si les caractéristiques de distributions globales, c.-à-d., la moyenne des intervalles, l'étendue entre les valeurs des durées, le nombre de durées différentes et la modalité sensorielle des marqueurs composant de courtes séquences rythmiques, exercent une influence sur le jugement de leurs durées.Des séquences de quatre sons ou de quatre cercles étaient présentées et suivies par une paire de sons ou de cercles. Les participants devaient juger si l'intervalle délimité par la dernière paire présentée était similaire, plus court ou plus long que les intervalles présentés dans la séquence. Les résultats révèlent que la performance des participants change selon la moyenne, l'étendue et la modalité sensorielle utilisée, les durées plus longues, de modalité auditive et variant peu en étendue sont les plus faciles à discriminer. De plus, la magnitude des erreurs d'estimation change en fonction de l'étendue et de l'interaction entre la moyenne et la modalité. L'influence de ces caractéristiques sur la perception d'un contexte global agit donc non seulement lorsque des sons composent de courtes séquences, mais aussi quand des stimuli visuels les composent, ou quand des séquences de sons et de stimuli visuels sont comparées.The perception of time has a special place in psychophysics. Without any known sensory organ specifically designed to perceive it, many theoretical models are based on the postulate that there are biological rhythms, or an « internal clock » composed of attentional and memory processes, responsible for the perception of time. Even though well-established models of time perception can interpret and predict how durations are perceived and memorised, only a few explain parsimoniously how a rhythmic pattern is perceived. Jones and McAuley (2005) demonstrated that, through the understanding of the Dynamic attending model, the perception of a rhythmic pattern was influenced by the distributional characteristics of rhythmic sequences. Consequently, they also influenced the global representation of the sequence's durations, which, by extension, how rhythm was perceived. Inspired by their work, the present study aims to observe if global distributional characteristics, i.e., the mean duration of the intervals within a session, the range of intervals in a session, the number of different intervals used in a session and the sensory modality of the markers delimiting short rhythmic sequences influence the judge duration of the sequences. The sequences were composed of four sounds or circles followed by a pair of sounds or circles. Participants had to judge if the last interval presented was identical, shorter, or longer than the intervals composing the sequences. Results show that the mean interval duration, the range, and the sensory modality influence the performance of participants. Proportion of correct answers was better when M = 600 ms instead of M = 400 ms durations are used, when the range is narrow and when intervals are delimited with sounds. Moreover, the magnitude of estimations errors also depends on the range and on the interaction between mean interval and the sensory modality. Thus, the influence of these characteristics on the perception of a global context doesn't only happen with sounds but can also be observed when using visual stimuli (circles) or a combination of both
Une technologie plasma à pression atmosphérique par décharge à barrière diélectrique (DBD) pour récupérer les métaux précieux contenus dans les effluents médicaux
No full textUne grande proportion des patients atteints de cancer sont traités avec des médicaments à base de platine. L'un de ces principaux médicaments, le cisplatine, est injecté par voie intraveineuse chez les patients. Ensuite, une grande majorité de ces molécules sont excrétées par l'urine. Cette molécule, qui a un impact toxicologique sur l'environnement, se retrouve dans les eaux usées. Les effluents hospitaliers représentent la seconde source de métaux du groupe platine dans les eaux usées des municipalités. La technologie plasma à décharge à barrière diélectrique (DBD) développée dans ce projet peut être adaptée à la récupération des métaux précieux. L'hypothèse du projet est qu'un réacteur plasma DBD permettrait de récupérer le platine provenant du cisplatine contenu dans les effluents hospitaliers pour ainsi réduire l'empreinte environnementale des rejets. Dans le cadre de ce projet, nous avons développé une procédure plasma pour extraire le platine des eaux usées produites par les cliniques d'oncologie. Les caractéristiques du plasma DBD ont été mesurées. Ces paramètres du plasma permettront de comprendre les interactions entre le plasma et le liquide qui sont à l'origine de la dégradation du cisplatine. L'approche inactive les molécules et convertit le platine en nanoparticules. Les nanoparticules de platine obtenues ont été caractérisées par différentes techniques : microscopie électronique à transmission (MET), analyses physico-chimiques (XPS, EDX, UV-vis) et analyse élémentaire (MP-AES). Ce projet a permis de révéler le potentiel des traitements par plasma pour l'élimination du cisplatine des effluents hospitaliers et la récupération de ce métal précieux.A large fraction of cancer patients are treated with platinum-based drugs, and cisplatin is one of the main widely used molecules. It is injected intravenously into patients. Then, a majority of these molecules are excreted by the urine. Cisplatin, which has a toxicological and carcinogenic impact on the environment, is found in wastewater. In fact, hospital effluents are the second largest source of platinum metal in municipal wastewater. Technologies such as dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) atmospheric pressure plasmas can be adapted to recover precious metals from wastewaters. The hypothesis of this project is that a DBD plasma reactor could be used to recover platinum contained in the cisplatin eliminated in the hospital effluents. This would reduce the environmental footprint of the hospital effluents. In this project, we have developed a plasma technology and procedure to extract platinum from the hospital's wastewater. The plasma produced by the DBD system was characterised to better understand the interactions between the plasma and the liquid, leading to the degradation of cisplatin. The approach inactivates the molecules and converts platinum into nanoparticles. The resulting platinum nanoparticles were characterized by different techniques: transmission electron microscopy (TEM), physico-chemical analysis (XPS, EDX, UV-vis) and elementary analysis (MP-AES). This project has contributed to quantify the potential of plasma treatments for the elimination of cisplatin found in the hospital effluents and the recovery of this precious metal
Effective altruism's and the institutional critique's moral frameworks : an analysis of effective altruism criticisms
No full textDans cette thèse, je suggère des changements que l'altruisme efficace (AE) peut faire pour intégrer les idées qui sous-tendent les critiques qui lui sont adressées par la critique institutionnelle (CI) concernant sa façon de s'attaquer à la pauvreté mondiale. Je soutiens que la tension entre les deux approches est mieux comprise en considérant deux débats classiques de la philosophie morale et politique : le débat entre le cosmopolitisme moral et le cosmopolitisme institutionnel, et le débat entre l'utilitarisme et les approches déontologiques. Je défends l'idée que l'EA adhère à un point de vue cosmopolite moral utilitariste tandis que l'IC adhère à un point de vue cosmopolite institutionnel déontologique. Ces deux cadres servent trois objectifs : ils nous aideront à comprendre le cadre moral respectif de l'AE et du CI ; ils nous aideront à mieux comprendre les critiques adressées à l'AE et les raisons de ces critiques, et ils guideront l'évaluation que je fais de ces critiques. Les deux premiers chapitres sont consacrés au débat entre l'utilitarisme et les approches déontologiques. Le premier s'attarde à la conception du moralement désirable, tandis que le second se concentre sur le rapport au tort. Le dernier chapitre aborde le débat entre les deux types de cosmopolitisme. Chaque chapitre est divisé en deux parties. Dans la première, je présente la conception de l'AE sur le thème du chapitre. Dans la deuxième partie, je présente la conception du CI et les critiques qu'il adresse à l'AE suivies de l'évaluation que je fais de chaque critique. Dans le premier chapitre, je démontre que l'AE défend une conception utilitariste du moralement désirable mais adaptée aux contraintes de la réalité et à la pauvreté mondiale. Cette conception comporte trois caractéristiques principales : le welfarisme, la maximisation, le principe d'équité utilitariste. Je présente ensuite comment la conception de ce qui est moralement désirable défendue par la CI s'explique mieux par sa conception déontologique. Je termine en présentant les six critiques que la CI adresse à l'AE concernant ses trois caractéristiques principales avant de les évaluer. Dans le deuxième chapitre, je montre d'abord comment l'AE n'aborde pas de manière rigoureuse la question du tort. Je présente ensuite comment la conception déontologique de la CI l'amène à se concentrer principalement sur l'évitement et la réparation du dommage. Je termine le chapitre en présentant quatre critiques liées au tort que l'AE causerait aux personnes qu'elle aide avant d'évaluer ses critiques. Dans le dernier chapitre, je présente la conception morale cosmopolite de l'AE. Je réponds ensuite à trois questions relatives au type d'entité responsable de la lutte contre la pauvreté mondiale : Quelles sont les causes de la pauvreté mondiale ? Qui est le mieux placé pour atténuer la pauvreté dans le monde ? Dans quelle mesure le devoir moral doit-il être exigeant pour les individus ? Dans la deuxième partie, je présente la vision cosmopolite institutionnelle défendue par le CI avant de présenter les trois réponses que le CI donne aux trois questions qui viennent d'être mentionnées ainsi que les trois critiques qu'il adresse aux réponses de l'AE à ces questions.In this thesis, I suggest ways effective altruism (EA) can integrate the ideas behind the criticisms addressed to it by the institutional critique (IC) regarding its way of tackling global poverty. I will argue that the tension between the two approaches is better understood by considering two classical debates in moral and political philosophy: the debate between moral cosmopolitanism and institutional cosmopolitanism, and the debate between utilitarianism and deontological approaches. I defend that EA holds a utilitarian moral cosmopolitan view while the IC holds a deontological institutional cosmopolitan view. These two frameworks serve three purposes: they will help us to understand the EA's and the IC's respective moral framework; they will help us to better understand the criticisms addressed to effective altruism and the reasons behind these criticisms, and they will guide the assessment I make of the criticisms. The first two chapters are dedicated to the debate between utilitarianism and the deontological approaches. The first one is related to the conception of the morally desirable, while the second focuses on the relation to harm. The last chapter addresses the debate between the two types of cosmopolitism. Each chapter is divided into two parts. In the first one, I present the EA's conception of the theme of the chapter. In the second part, I present the IC's conception, the criticisms it addresses to the EA, and the assessment I make of each criticism. In the first chapter, I demonstrate that EA holds a utilitarian conception of the morally desirable but adapted to the constraints of reality and to global poverty. This conception has three main features: welfarism, maximization, the utilitarian equity principle. I then present how the morally desirable conception of the way to tackle global poverty defended by the IC is better explained by its deontological conception. I finish by presenting the six criticisms that the IC addresses to EA regarding their three features before assessing them. In the second chapter, I first demonstrate how EA does not address in a sustained fashion the question of harm. I then present how the deontological conception held by the IC makes them focus mainly on avoiding and repairing harm. I finish the chapter by presenting four criticisms related to the harm that EA does to the global poor before assessing them. In the final chapter, I present EA's moral cosmopolitan view. I then answer three questions related to what type of entity is responsible to tackle global poverty: What causes global poverty? Who is in the best position to alleviate global poverty? How demanding should the moral duty be on individuals? In the second part, I present the institutional cosmopolitan view held by the IC before presenting the three answers that the IC gives to the three questions just mentioned as well as the three criticisms they address to the EA's answers to these questions