McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1983

The reaction of polycyclic hydrocarbon epoxides with the phosphate group of DNA has been suggested as potentially important in the cancer process initiated by this class of compounds. Herein the chemical reactions of model phosphates with various classes of epoxides are investigated. With aliphatic and non-bay-region type expoxides the reaction occurred by stereospecific trans addition of phosphate on the epoxide. Various physical-chemical aspects of this reaction are investigated. With K-region type epoxides the same reaction gave exclusively phenols. The biological implications of this result are discussed. Finally, bay-region type oxides, on reaction with phosphate, gave phosphotriesters whose stabilities depend on …  Read more

Studies of the life history and habits of Diabrotica longicornis (Say), a new pest of corn in Quebec, were undertaken in the field and in the laboratory. Seasonal activity and habits were established by monitoring life stages in the field during the years 1979, 1980 and 1981. The threshold temperature for development of NCR eggs was estimated at 9.7(DEGREES)C. The mean thermal constant for first hatching in the laboratory was 326 degree days above 9.7(DEGREES)C. Eclosion occurred in the field when average soil temperature conditions at the 5 - 10 cm depth reached 331 - 334 degree days. Pupation occurred …  Read more

The possibility of improving the nutritive value of fermented colostrum for neonatal calves was investigated in 5 trials involving 164 Holstein calves and in 2 laboratory experiments. The inoculation of colostrum with S. lactis culture ensured a highly palatable and more uniform product. Calves fed the inoculated product gained in weight quicker and consumed more starter than those fed naturally fermented colostrum. The addition of sorbic acid to S. lactis inoculated colostrum controlled the mold contamination, particularly during hot summer weather. This lowered the degradation of lactose and protein and extended the storage life. The application of 1,000 ppm of …  Read more

The main objective of this work was the generation of the species IrH(CO)(PPh3)2 at low temperature in order to check whether trans oxidative addition of dihydrogen to this intermediate may occur. The strategy adopted was the synthesis of a series of complexes IrH(CO)(PPh3 ) 2 (ol), where ol is an asymmetrical and labile alkene. In the case where ol = styrene, the complex exhibited optimum properties and it has been shown that concerted addition of H2 to IrH(CO)(PPh3 ) 2 gave only the cis products. These hydrido-olefinic compounds, with ol = CH2=CHX, X= CN, COOCH3 , c6a5 , Cl and …  Read more

In the Third World, the Oil Crisis has emphasized the vulnerability of certain large oil-importing countries, engaged in an extensive process of industrialization. The author asks whether Brazil's response to this new challenge will emerge from a tradition of direct State involvement in Energy (exemplified by PETROBRAS), or an original strategy based on the private sector. Both the personal commitment of General Geisel to enhance the national bourgeoisie, and the general context of the mid-Seventies, favour the latter. As the locally-owned sugar-producing oligopoly promotes an alcohol program to replace gasoline, the State is seeking a loose formula--an Alliance of the …  Read more

This thesis analyzes discrimination against women on labor market and stresses the influence of social values on the allocation of labor. This influence can be observed in job segregation itself and in special working conditions associated with typically female jobs. This influence is part of a mechanism of job rationing. All social institutions (churches, family, political parties...) share a common history characterized by a strict vision of sex-role segregation. The roles of men and women in the labour market, an important social institution, will reflect this sex-role segregation. Job segregation has long been viewed by many economists as an exogenous …  Read more

Multiphase flow in porous media is a wide-ranging phenomenon, covering such topics as the motion of immiscible fluids, where the interaction with the medium is by exchange of heat and/or mass between phases, to fluid-solid phase flow accompanied by clogging and leaching. The present study is limited to the flow of immiscible fluids (oil and surfactant), where fine solids (clay) migration occurs during the motion. It is divided into two parts: (a) experimental and (b) theoretical. The experimental investigations have been performed in order to evaluate: (a) the factors (e.g., porosity, temperature and injection pressure) that affect the injected surfactant …  Read more

Although rejecting Christian dogma, George Eliot retained, throughout her life, a strong sympathy for the humanitarian aspects of Christianity, which finds expression in her humane and moral philosophy, and especially in the value she attaches to right conduct. The treatment of death in her novels is governed both by this humanitarian emphasis and by her conviction of unalterable cause and effect in the universe. Given the interrelationship between individuals in society, the awesome reality of this law of consequences, demonstrating the ramifications of human error, makes it incumbent on man to avoid selfish choices. A study of the death episodes …  Read more

Étude détaillée de l'œuvre de l'auteur "Motionless Move" qui montre l'application de quelques techniques de composition tirées de la musique de gamelan javanais, notamment: une mélodie-cantus firmus a caractère modal, une polyphonie hétérophonie par strates bien différenciées ainsi qu'une structure colotomique. L'œuvre écrite pour un ensemble de quatorze musiciens a été ensuite adaptée pour orchestre. Aussi, on étudie quelques aspects de cette orchestration.  Read more

The charging characteristics of ionographic latent images are discussed in terms of saturation characteristics of ionographic chambers. Latent images are essentially foil électrets with surface charge densities proportional to the x-ray transmission through the object. A hyperbolic expression is developed which accurately describes the full saturation curve for x-rays and cobalt-60 gamma rays of parallel-plate ionization chambers filled with air, or with high atomic number gases at elevated pressures. Foil électrets with surface charge densities of up to 10-6 C/cm2 and ionographic latent images are formed by blocking the collecting electrode of the chamber with a polymer. The hyperbolic expression …  Read more

The adaptability of the respiratory muscles to training and/or emphysema was investigated. The diaphragmatic (DIA) length-tension curve of the emphysematous animals shifted significantly towards the left; maximal tetanic tensions were generated at shorter absolute DIA lengths. This decrease in DIA length occurred in proportion to the hyperinflation and mainly occurred due to a loss in the number of sarcomeres. In states of acute DIA shortening, were no adaptations in length occurred, we noted marked alterations in the twitch characteristics and in the shape of the force-frequency curve; at acutely shorter DIA lengths, a disproportionately greater excitability was required in order …  Read more

Fifteen reading disabled boys classified according to reading subskill deficits formed three subgroups: Oral Reading, Associative, and Sequential. On the rationale that training procedures emphasizing accuracy and speed of response to letters, syllables, and words would improve reading skills, the children were trained daily for 2 months. Two schedules of testing and training allowed for an untrained control group and a follow-up group. An average reader sample of 45 boys were also assessed to obtain comparative data on a computerized battery of component reading skills. […]  Read more

The success of biological weed control programs has been limited by a lack of understanding of the stress physiology of insect damage and pathogen development. This case study with the perennial weed, Cirsium arvense, (L.) Scop. evaluated the stress of five natural enemies. Attack by a seed head predator, Orellia ruficauda (F.) caused about 21.5% predation and may reduce seed dispersal. The stress of stem gall formation (Urophora cardui (L.)) is greatest when the gall occurs on young plants and on the mainshoot and defoliation simulation (Cassida rubiginosa Muller) is most effective at high levels on young plants. In nature, …  Read more

Cette thèse propose une exploration et une contexualisation du projet monumental d'Elizabeth Barrett Browning dans son poème narratif Aurora Leigh (1856), qui est celui de construire une poétique du sujet féminin. Notre point de vue méthodologique s'appuie sur deux appareils théoriques: la sémiotique intertextuelle et la critique littéraire féministe. Les Chapitres Deux et Trois abordent une problématique de contexte à l'égard d'Aurora Leigh à travers l'examen d'une tradition d'auto-réflexivité dans les écrits féminins de la fin du XVIIe siècle au début du XIXe, et une analyse du discours hégémonique sur la "femme" du début de l'époque Victorienne. Dans les Chapitres …  Read more

Afin d'élucider le rôle du tronc cérébral clans le contrôle des états de veille-sommeil, du sommeil paradoxal en particulier, une nouvelle méthode informatisée de quantification, représentation graphique et classification automatique des données électrographiques a été developpée. La concordance entre les classifications automatique et traditionelle s'est prouvée satisfaisante. L'application de cette méthode a permis une analyse quantitative et objective des effets de diverses lésions sur les états de veille-sommeil. Une comparaison entre les effets de lésions à l'intérieur du tegmentum pontique a demontré que les structures du tegmentum latéral sont essentielles à la génération de l'état de sommeil paradoxal, tandis que …  Read more

This work concerns the role of spinal sympathetic pathways in the transynaptic regulation of adrenal medullary tyrosine hydroxylase activity (ATHA) and catecholamines. Cord transection in adult rats above the origin of the sympatho-adrenal preganglionic neurons (SAPN) causes after 3 days progressive reductions of ATHA, of the Vmax for tyrosine hydroxylation and of adrenal dopamine content. These effects are prevented by prior splanchnicotomy; they may result from a lowering of modulatory impulses of decentralized SAPN. The effect of spinal section on ATHA is accentuated by the repeated injection of serotonergic and muscarinic agonists which could inhibit the SAPN. Following spinal hemisection …  Read more

The present work attempts to study the modes and instances through which the French Revolution is represented within a corpus of selected novels published between 1789 and 1800 in four national literatures, namely the French, English, American and Italian. By applying a methodology which defines itself as both sociological and narratological, we have sought to reevaluate a period traditionally excluded from literary historiography, by means of a survey and a listing of the novelistic fiction produced in the four fields. We have then inserted our quantitative data which clearly shows the steady growth in the production of novels as well …  Read more