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Rising temperatures in the Arctic and subarctic are driving the rapid thaw of permafrost by reducing permafrost cooling, increasing active layer thickness, and promoting talik formation. In this study, the cyrohydrogeology of a permafrost mound located within the discontinuous permafrost zone near Umiujaq (Nunavik, Québec, Canada) is characterized through the analysis of a dataset covering more than two decades of monitoring. This dataset captures a high degree of interannual variability in air temperature and ground thermal conditions, as well as the formation and closure of a supra-permafrost talik. Data indicate that variable saturation and advective heat transport directly contribute to the expansion and contraction of the talik. Data further indicate the presence of two distinct thermo-hydrologic settings resulting from differences in surface conditions, as well as subsurface thermal and flow regimes. The first, found at the top of the mound feature, is characterized by very low moisture contents (<0.05 m3/m3), while the second, found at the side of the mound feature, shows higher annual moisture contents that strongly influence the dynamics of heat and groundwater flow. The data were synthesized into a detailed conceptual model of the cyrohydrogeological dynamics that highlights the important role of hydrogeological characterization and long-term data sets in understanding the effects of groundwater flow on seasonal frost and permafrost dynamics. Specifically, the results presented here show that in the absence of long-term data sets, longer-period transient phenomena such as talik opening and closure may be misrepresented as uni-directional feedback loops, as opposed to highly dynamic temporary phenomena.

Dans la vie politique d’une société, il y a parfois des moments où l’histoire s’accélère. Où l’impression d’assister à une époque charnière est bien réelle. Cela nous ramène à l’enjeu structurant de l’élection de 2022. L’élection de 2018 ne sera-t-elle qu’une élection de déviation avec un retour en force du PQ et du PLQ ? Une victoire de la CAQ confirmerait au contraire qu’un réalignement électoral s’est réellement produit et que les forces de long terme sont véritablement modifiées. Ce n’est donc pas une élection comme les autres.

This article shows that first language (L1) transfer may not be effectively maintained in the interlanguage due to confounding factors in the second language (L2). When two factors, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], are correlated in the L2, second language learners may only acquire [Formula: see text], even if [Formula: see text] is present in the L1. Transfer may not be effective because [Formula: see text], being more robust in the input, conceals [Formula: see text]. Native speakers, on the other hand, generalize [Formula: see text] in spite of [Formula: see text]. The variables in question are weight-sensitivity ([Formula: see text]) and positional bias ([Formula: see text]) in English, both of which can predict the location of stress in the language. I show that two seemingly target-like groups of second language learners of English (speakers of Mandarin and speakers Portuguese) fail to accurately generalize weight-sensitivity in the language, and instead display response patterns which are predictable given the existing positional bias in English stress.

Landslides in sensitive post-glacial marine clays are one of the major geological hazards in Canada, Norway and Sweden. Current hydrogeological conceptual models used for slope stability analyses in these deposits consider simple groundwater flow conditions within a homogenous, isotropic, massive clay deposits, where fractures are surficial features that only exist within a 1–5 m-thick weathered zone. This study uses cross-correlation analysis on hydraulic head data from a large network of vibrating-wire piezometers in clay deposits along the St. Lawrence River and in the Saguenay-Lac St-Jean Lowlands, in Quebec, Canada, to show that hydraulically-active fractures are present to depths of up to 16 m at 4 (possibly 6) of the 7 locations studied. These findings suggest that current conceptual models have a high likelihood of misrepresenting local flow systems, and that further field and modeling work is needed to characterize the extent and influence of these fracture networks.

Les cardiopathies valvulaires ont longtemps été considérées comme étant similaires chez les hommes et les femmes, de même que chez l’ensemble des races/origines ethniques. Récemment, des études ont montré qu’il existe des différences majeures entre les sexes. Malheureusement, les études sur les cardiopathies valvulaires, -comme celles sur les autres maladies cardiovasculaires, sont pour la plupart menées chez des hommes blancs ou dans des cohortes comptant une vaste majorité d’hommes blancs. Nos connaissances sur les valvulopathies chez les femmes et les personnes non blanches demeurent donc limitées. Néanmoins, la prévalence de sténose aortique est presque identique chez les femmes et les hommes, et est plus faible chez les Afro-Américains. Les lésions de la valve aortique sont plus calcifiées chez les hommes, et sont plus fibrosées chez les femmes. L'insuffisance mitrale s’observe plus souvent chez les femmes, pour lesquelles les étiologies les plus fréquentes sont une atteinte rhumatismale ou la maladie de Barlow, tandis que les hommes présentent plus souvent une déficience fibroélastique avec prolapsus/éversion du feuillet postérieur. Le remodelage ventriculaire gauche dû aux cardiopathies valvulaires est lié au sexe en ce qui a trait à la géométrie et, probablement, aussi à la composition des tissus. Par rapport aux hommes, les femmes semblent avoir un devenir plus défavorable après des interventions chirurgicales alors qu'il est supérieur ou équivalent après des interventions par voie transcathéter. Il y a très peu d’études sur les autres cardiopathies valvulaires : l'insuffisance aortique est plus fréquente chez les hommes et l'insuffisance tricuspide isolée est plus fréquente chez les femmes. Les valvulopathies rhumatismales sont plus fréquentes chez les femmes et se manifestent surtout par des sténoses mitrales et aortiques. De nombreuses autres études doivent encore être menées, en fonction du sexe/genre et de la race/l’origine ethnique, sur l’épidémiologie, la physiopathologie, les premiers signes ou symptômes, la prise en charge et les issues. Cette revue vise à présenter les données dont on dispose sur les différences entre les sexes et les caractéristiques propres à la race chez les patients atteints de cardiopathies valvulaires, plus particulièrement de sténose aortique et d'insuffisance mitrale. Valvular heart diseases have long been considered to be similar in men and women and across races/ethnicities. Recently, studies have demonstrated major differences between sexes. Unfortunately, studies on valvular heart diseases, as on other cardiovascular diseases, are mostly performed in Caucasian men or in cohorts with a vast majority of Caucasian men. Therefore, our knowledge on valvular diseases in women and non-Caucasians remains limited. Nevertheless, aortic stenosis has been shown to be almost as prevalent in women as in men, and less prevalent in African Americans. Men appear to have a more calcified aortic valve lesion, and women tend to have a more fibrosed one. Primary mitral regurgitation is more frequent in women who have more rheumatic and Barlow etiologies, whereas men have more fibroelastic deficiency and posterior leaflet prolapse/flail. Left ventricular remodelling due to valvular heart diseases is sex related in terms of geometry and probably also in composition of the tissue. Outcomes seem to be worse in women after surgical interventions and better than or equivalent to men after transcatheter ones. Regarding other valvular heart diseases, very few studies are available: Aortic regurgitation is more frequent in men, isolated tricuspid regurgitation more frequent in women. Rheumatic valve diseases are more frequent in women and are mostly represented by mitral and aortic stenoses. Many other sex/gender- and race/ethnic-specific studies are still needed in epidemiology, pathophysiology, presentation, management, and outcomes. This review aims to report the available data on sex differences and race specificities in valvular heart diseases, with a primary focus on aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation.

Il y a 55 ans, les bibliothèques universitaires du Québec jetaient les bases d’une coopération qui n’a fait que s’accroître au fil du temps avec la réalisation de diverses initiatives. En 2014, elles ont fait le pari de s’engager dans un projet de mutualisation dont l’objectif serait la mise en place d’une plateforme partagée de services. Dès l’étape de la planification du projet, cette idée de départ s’est rapidement transformée en un défi encore plus ambitieux : créer un écosystème informationnel commun à l’ensemble des universités québécoises. Cet article relate le cheminement de ce projet et du nouveau partenariat que les bibliothèques universitaires du Québec ont instauré. Fifty-five years ago, Quebec’s university libraries laid the foundation for a cooperation that has only grown over time with the realization of various initiatives. In 2014, they decided to embark on a mutualization project whose objective would be the implementation of a shared platform of services. From the project planning stage, this initial idea quickly turned into an even more ambitious challenge : to create a common information ecosystem for all Quebec universities. This article describes the progress of this project and the new partnership that Quebec’s university libraries have established.

Réflexions et observations sur l’identité professionnelle des intervenants sociaux à partir de groupes d’intervention sociologique rassemblant des intervenants de CLSC de Montréal et Québec. Thoughts and observations on professional identity based on sociological intervention groups with social workers from Montreal and Quebec CLSC.

Permeability functionalities are noticeable in the wood drying and impregnation processes because it has an effect on the bulk flow of a fluid through the wood structure. The aim of this work was to measure the radial and tangential specific gas permeability of Eucalyptus nitens wood for 10 different provenances. Furthermore, the effect of the radial position (defined as inner-wood, middle-wood, and outer-wood) on the measurements was investigated. The specific gas permeability of E. nitens ranged in order of magnitude from 10−20 to 10−16 m2. The results showed that the radial position had a statistically significant effect on the specific permeability in both flow directions and, in general, the permeability values increased from inner-wood to outer-wood. Moreover, the scanning electron microscopy images showed obstruction of vessels by tyloses which explained the lower permeability values obtained in the inner-wood of E. nitens. Differences in the magnitude of the permeability values could explain the diverse drying and impregnation behavior according to the wood zones, the low permeability values in the internal wood-zone could suggest an opportunity for improving it, through chemical modification or structural changes to introduce new functionalities of this radial wood-zone in Eucalyptus nitens.

High-strength TiHfZrNbₓ high-entropy alloys could become the ideal materials for small-diameter endovascular stents once their corrosion resistance in the physiological milieu is confirmed. This work aims at evaluating the corrosion resistance of a TiHfZrNbₓ high-entropy-alloys family in Hanks’ solution at 37 °C and revealing the influence of niobium on the mechanisms of dissolution and passivation. The alloys were subjected to a series of static and dynamic electrochemical tests and surface characterization, employing the static/dynamic/cyclic polarizations, impedance spectroscopy, XPS, AFM, and SEM. Results confirm a higher corrosion resistance of the alloys compared to that of CP-Ti and Ti6Al4V. The addition of niobium considerably improves the microstructural homogeneity that ensures a low dissolution rate and a greater resistance of the film due to the lower concentration of point defects. The passive film behaves as an n-type semiconductor and is composed of a mixture of TiO₂, Nb₂O₅, ZrO₂, and HfO₂ oxides, with the presence of metallic hydroxides on the outermost layer. A detailed description of the niobium influence on the mechanisms of the dissolution and passivation is presented in this work.