Projets de coopération universitaire : l'émergence de nouvelles structures de gouvernance

Depuis le début des années quatre-vingt-dix, le modèle classique de l'université est fortement remis en question: pénétration accrue des acteurs privés, attentes de la société civile, contractualisation et «horizontalisation» des relations, etc. L'université bouge et doit s'adapter à un environnement en mutation. En Suisse, les projets de coopération inter universités semblent être une des réponses privilégiées par les acteurs dominants du système pour faire face à ces changements. Toutefois, la mise en place de nouveaux arrangements institutionnels notamment sous la forme de réseaux d'enseignement et de recherche ne va pas sans soulever de nombreuses interrogations. Premièrement, et notamment du fait de bases légales peu développées, les collaborations institutionnalisées n'ont pas toutes la même configuration. Nous devons donc nous questionner sur les formes concrètes prises par ces réseaux d'enseignement et de recherche et sur les raisons qui ont conduit à l'adoption d'un type particulier de structure de coopération. Ensuite, comme ces structures ne viennent pas remplacer, mais plutôt se superposer à celles préexistantes, il convient de comprendre la redistribution du pouvoir au sein de formes institutionnelles complexes. Plus précisément, l'analyse de la nouvelle répartition des compétences entre les institutions hiérarchiques (les universités) et les coopérations (réseaux) en particulier sous l'angle de l'autonomie dont ces dernières disposent, se révèle être un angle d'approche fructueux. Finalement, la question de l'évaluation de ces nouvelles formes de gouvernance va se poser. Outre les formes prises par ces structures, une discussion doit être menée autour des limites démocratiques de cette nouvelle forme du secteur public. Ce working paper présente dans un premier temps quelques facteurs qui ont contraints les universités à une remise en cause de leurs structures de gouvernance. Il introduit ensuite quelques éléments théoriques faisant référence aux théories portant sur les réseaux et plus particulièrement à l'approche institutionnelle de ceux-ci. La troisième partie de ce papier présente brièvement les structures de gouvernance du système universitaire helvétique ainsi que les récentes pressions au changement ayant favorisé la mise en place de ces réseaux. Finalement, la quatrième partie étudie, au travers de six cas de coopérations inter-universitaires suisses, la forme prise par ces réseaux, essentiellement sous l'angle de leur degré d'autonomie.

Physiotherapy practice in the private sector: organizational characteristics and models.

BACKGROUND: Even if a large proportion of physiotherapists work in the private sector worldwide, very little is known of the organizations within which they practice. Such knowledge is important to help understand contexts of practice and how they influence the quality of services and patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to: 1) describe characteristics of organizations where physiotherapists practice in the private sector, and 2) explore the existence of a taxonomy of organizational models. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional quantitative survey of 236 randomly-selected physiotherapists. Participants completed a purpose-designed questionnaire online or by telephone, covering organizational vision, resources, structures and practices. Organizational characteristics were analyzed descriptively, while organizational models were identified by multiple correspondence analyses. RESULTS: Most organizations were for-profit (93.2%), located in urban areas (91.5%), and within buildings containing multiple businesses/organizations (76.7%). The majority included multiple providers (89.8%) from diverse professions, mainly physiotherapy assistants (68.7%), massage therapists (67.3%) and osteopaths (50.2%). Four organizational models were identified: 1) solo practice, 2) middle-scale multiprovider, 3) large-scale multiprovider and 4) mixed. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide a detailed description of the organizations where physiotherapists practice, and highlight the importance of human resources in differentiating organizational models. Further research examining the influences of these organizational characteristics and models on outcomes such as physiotherapists' professional practices and patient outcomes are needed.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor structures: ligand specificity, molecular switch and interactions with regulators.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) compose a family of nuclear receptors that mediate the effects of lipidic ligands at the transcriptional level. In this review, we highlight advances in the understanding of the PPAR ligand binding domain (LBD) structure at the atomic level. The overall structure of PPARs LBD is described, and important protein ligand interactions are presented. Structure-activity relationships between isotypes structures and ligand specificity are addressed. It is shown that the numerous experimental three-dimensional structures available, together with in silico simulations, help understanding the role played by the activating function-2 (AF-2) in PPARs activation and its underlying molecular mechanism. The relation between the PPARs constitutive activity and the intrinsic stability of the active conformation is discussed. Finally, the interactions of PPARs LBD with co-activators or co-repressors, as well as with the retinoid X receptor (RXR) are described and considered in relation to PPARs activation.

The 16p11.2 locus modulates brain structures common to autism, schizophrenia and obesity

Anatomical structures and mechanisms linking genes to neuropsychiatric disorders are not deciphered. Reciprocal copy number variants at the 16p11.2 BP4-BP5 locus offer a unique opportunity to study the intermediate phenotypes in carriers at high risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or schizophrenia (SZ). We investigated the variation in brain anatomy in 16p11.2 deletion and duplication carriers. Beyond gene dosage effects on global brain metrics, we show that the number of genomic copies negatively correlated to the gray matter volume and white matter tissue properties in cortico-subcortical regions implicated in reward, language and social cognition. Despite the near absence of ASD or SZ diagnoses in our 16p11.2 cohort, the pattern of brain anatomy changes in carriers spatially overlaps with the well-established structural abnormalities in ASD and SZ. Using measures of peripheral mRNA levels, we confirm our genomic copy number findings. This combined molecular, neuroimaging and clinical approach, applied to larger datasets, will help interpret the relative contributions of genes to neuropsychiatric conditions by measuring their effect on local brain anatomy.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 25 November 2014; doi:10.1038/mp.2014.145.

Inheritance of ductile and brittle structures in the development of large rock slope instabilities: Examples from western Norway

The high density of slope failures in western Norway is due to the steep relief and to the concentration of various structures that followed protracted ductile and brittle tectonics. On the 72 investigated rock slope instabilities, 13 were developed in soft weathered mafic and phyllitic allochthons. Only the intrinsic weakness of such rocks increases the susceptibility to gravitational deformation. In contrast, the gravitational structures in the hard gneisses reactivate prominent ductile or/and brittle fabrics. At 30 rockslides along cataclinal slopes, weak mafic layers of foliation are reactivated as basal planes. Slope-parallel steep foliation forms back-cracks of unstable columns. Folds are specifically present in the Storfjord area, together with a clustering of potential slope failures. Folding increases the probability of having favourably orientated planes with respect to the gravitational forces and the slope. High water pressure is believed to seasonally build up along the shallow-dipping Caledonian detachments and may contribute to destabilization of the rock slope upwards. Regional cataclastic faults localized the gravitational structures at 45 sites. The volume of the slope instabilities tends to increase with the amount of reactivated prominent structures and the spacing of the latter controls the size of instabilities.

Structures and failure mechanisms analysis of Turtle Mountain

The 30 M m3 rockslide that occurred on the east face of Turtle Mountain in the Crowsnest Pass area (Alberta) in 1903 is one of the most famous landslides in the world. In this paper, the structural features of the South part of Turtle Mountain are investigated in order to understand the present-day scar morphology and to identify the most important failure mechanisms. The structural features were mapped using a high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) in order to have a large overview of the relevant structural features. At the same time, a field survey was carried out and small scale fractures were analyzed in different parts of southern Turtle Mountain in order to confirm the DEM analysis. Results allow to identify six main discontinuity sets that influence the Turtle Mountain morphology. These discontinuity sets were then used to identify the potential failure mechanisms affecting Third Peak and South Peak area.

Complex landslide behaviour and structural controlled by the structures: A 3D conceptual model example of Åknes rockslide, Norway

Åknes is an active complex large rockslide of approximately 30?40 Mm3 located within the Proterozoic gneisses of western Norway. The observed surface displacements indicate that this rockslide is divided into several blocks moving in different directions at velocities of between 3 and 10 cm year?1. Because of regional safety issues and economic interests this rockslide has been extensively monitored since 2004. The understanding of the deformation mechanism is crucial for the implementation of a viable monitoring system. Detailed field investigations and the analysis of a digital elevation model (DEM) indicate that the movements and the block geometry are controlled by the main schistosity (S1) in gneisses, folds, joints and regional faults. Such complex slope deformations use pre-existing structures, but also result in new failure surfaces and deformation zones, like preferential rupture in fold-hinge zones. Our interpretation provides a consistent conceptual three-dimensional (3D) model for the movements measured by various methods that is crucial for numerical stability modelling. In addition, this reinterpretation of the morphology confirms that in the past several rockslides occurred from the Åknes slope. They may be related to scars propagating along the vertical foliation in folds hinges. Finally, a model of the evolution of the Åknes slope is presented.

Segmentation of brain structures in presence of a space-occupying lesion.

Brain deformations induced by space-occupying lesions may result in unpredictable position and shape of functionally important brain structures. The aim of this study is to propose a method for segmentation of brain structures by deformation of a segmented brain atlas in presence of a space-occupying lesion. Our approach is based on an a priori model of lesion growth (MLG) that assumes radial expansion from a seeding point and involves three steps: first, an affine registration bringing the atlas and the patient into global correspondence; then, the seeding of a synthetic tumor into the brain atlas providing a template for the lesion; finally, the deformation of the seeded atlas, combining a method derived from optical flow principles and a model of lesion growth. The method was applied on two meningiomas inducing a pure displacement of the underlying brain structures, and segmentation accuracy of ventricles and basal ganglia was assessed. Results show that the segmented structures were consistent with the patient's anatomy and that the deformation accuracy of surrounding brain structures was highly dependent on the accurate placement of the tumor seeding point. Further improvements of the method will optimize the segmentation accuracy. Visualization of brain structures provides useful information for therapeutic consideration of space-occupying lesions, including surgical, radiosurgical, and radiotherapeutic planning, in order to increase treatment efficiency and prevent neurological damage.

Enquête auprès des usagers de drogue, clients des structures à bas-seuil d'accès (SBS) en Suisse: tendances 1993-2011

[Table des matières] Résumés. - 2. Introduction. - 3. Méthode pour l'enquête clientèle. - 4. Tendances pour l'ensemble des répondants: Caractéristiques sociodémographiques des usagers ; Consommation de substances et traitement de substitution ; Indicateurs de pratique de l'injection ; Activité sexuelle et comportement préventif; Indicateurs de l'état de santé ; Incarcération en lien avec la drogue et consommation en prison. - 5. Tendances pour les injecteurs de drogue au cours de la vie: Caractéristiques sociodémographiques des usagers injecteurs de drogue ; Consommation de substances et traitement de substitution ; Indicateurs de pratique de l'injection ; Partage de seringues et de matériel ; Activité sexuelle et comportement préventif ; Indicateurs de l'état de santé ; Incarcération en lien avec la drogue et consommation en prison. - 6. Tendances pour les consommateurs de drogue qui ne se sont jamais injecté de drogue au cours de la vie: Caractéristiques sociodémographiques des usagers non-injecteurs de drogue ; Consommation de substances et traitement de substitution ; Activité sexuelle et comportement préventif ; Indicateurs de l'état de santé ; Incarcération en lien avec la drogue et consommation en prison. - 7. Références

Novel H3K4me3 marks are enriched at human- and chimpanzee-specific cytogenetic structures.

Human and chimpanzee genomes are 98.8% identical within comparable sequences. However, they differ structurally in nine pericentric inversions, one fusion that originated human chromosome 2, and content and localization of heterochromatin and lineage-specific segmental duplications. The possible functional consequences of these cytogenetic and structural differences are not fully understood and their possible involvement in speciation remains unclear. We show that subtelomeric regions-regions that have a species-specific organization, are more divergent in sequence, and are enriched in genes and recombination hotspots-are significantly enriched for species-specific histone modifications that decorate transcription start sites in different tissues in both human and chimpanzee. The human lineage-specific chromosome 2 fusion point and ancestral centromere locus as well as chromosome 1 and 18 pericentric inversion breakpoints showed enrichment of human-specific H3K4me3 peaks in the prefrontal cortex. Our results reveal an association between plastic regions and potential novel regulatory elements.