McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1995

Warman, P. R. (Advisor)  Read more

In Swiss law the buyer's remedies for breach of warranty of quality remedies are different in many respects from his other contractual remedies. The aim of this thesis is to show that it is not a necessity but rather a source of confusion for the Swiss legal system to have special remedies for breach of warranty. General contract remedies could very effectively and rationally compensate buyers for breaches of quality warranties. To achieve this aim this study starts by analysing the historical reasons for the adoption of special warranty remedies. In its second half it compares each warranty remedy found …  Read more

The goal of this thesis was to examine the sources and ecological behaviour of genotoxic organics in the St. Lawrence river system. A rapid and effective version of the SOS Chromotest was developed to accomplish the task of genotoxicity assessment. The method, validated with standard reference materials, is particularly well suited to complex environmental extracts. The endpoint investigated throughout the thesis, SOS genotoxicity, is empirically related to more familiar endpoints such as mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. Analyses of literature data confirmed correlations between SOS genotoxicity and both Ames/Salmonella mutagenicity and animal carcinogenicity. Analyses of industrial and municipal wastewaters revealed that organic …  Read more

In this paper I focus on the arguments made by some feminist writers against the disclosure of biographical information concerning the donor to children conceived through the use of donor insemination. In particular I concentrate on the effects of disclosure in terms of its personal effects on women of certain groups in less conventional family relationships, and on its implications with respect to ideas of the importance of social environment to personal development. An important aspect of this discussion is an examination of different notions of identity. I try to articulate a notion of identity which may be reconciled with …  Read more

The intention of this masters thesis is to examine how homosexuality is represented in Thomas Mann's 1913 novella Death in Venice, and to demonstrate how Mann was able to incorporate such a taboo issue in a story that Wilhelmine Germany would come to embrace. The study consists of four chapters which examine four contexts in which the story, for the purposes of this thesis, should be interpreted. The first is historical, in which the previous reception of the novella, as well as the author's own struggle with his identity, is investigated. In the second, Mann's philosophical paradigms to represent homoeroticism, …  Read more

The representativeness of North Atlantic cyclone activity is assessed for the 15 January-15 March 1992 period of the second Canadian Atlantic Storms Program (CASP II). Explosive cyclogenesis is found to shift northeastward to a locus east of the Canadian seaboard along a sustained anomalous cyclone track. Active (inactive) periods are defined as comprising the quarter of the study period with the strongest (weakest) cyclone deepening: Of 24 Atlantic bombs, 14 (1) occur(s) during active (inactive) periods. During active periods, storms develop along strong baroclinic zones on the leading edge of southeasterly advancing Arctic air masses, and lead low-frequency oscillations in …  Read more

This thesis reflects on the Lettres sur l'Architechure of Viel de Saint-Maux, published in Paris in 1787. This period represents a crisis point at which classical architechure and a traditional means of relating-to-the-world had exhausted themselves. In the Lettres, St.-Maux privileges original agrarian societies who worship the natural force of fecundity and the agricultural bounty that results from it. He claims that this worship supplied the radical base for their iconographic and symbolic forms as applied to architecture. Viel de St.-Maux's privileging of the generative forces of nature as a site for sacred imagining and ritual constructions of the agricultural …  Read more

Rats are nocturnal animals, their ingestive behaviours show circadian rhythms and the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus are the primary pacemaker of these rhythms. Serotonin (5-HT) is one of the most abundant neurotransmitter in the SCN and it is involved in the regulation of ingestive behaviour. In this study, we compared food and water intakes of male adult Wistar rats infused during 7 days with serotonin (2.5 nmol/24h) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the SCN in a three-way selection of macronutrients. Within 5-HT infusion, nocturnal and diurnal water intakes, and the nocturnal caloric intake from the protein diet …  Read more

Drawing on a variety of primary and archaeological sources, this study attempts to recreate the political history and the social and economic character of the Balqa' region during the Umayyad period. The Balqa' was a provincial area of Transjordan, which had long been part of the classical world heavily influenced by the Arab tribes of the Syrian desert. After the Arab conquest the Balqa' took on a new role as the home or some of the ruling Umayyad elite. But a process of economic, demographic and urban decline had already begun in the middle of sixth century. Even the ethnic …  Read more

An important characteristic of a polymer is its molecular weight distribution (MWD). The MWD affects both the processing and solid state performance properties of polymeric materials. Currently the analytical method for evaluating MWD involves the use of gel permeation chromatography (GPC). This is a labor and time intensive procedure, with the accuracy of the results depending strongly on the skill and experience of the equipment operator. Furthermore, GPC is not sensitive to small amounts of high molecular weight material that can have an important effect on processing and product properties. Thus GPC is far from ideal as a tool for …  Read more

Soybean peroxidase (SBP) was investigated as an alternative to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in the catalytic removal of phenolic compounds from wastewaters. The catalytic activity of SBP depended on reaction pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration. A pseudo steady state kinetic model describing the dependence of activity on peroxide concentration was derived and apparent kinetic constants describing the oxidation of SBP by hydrogen peroxide and the reduction of SBP by phenol were determined. SBP incubated at 25$ sp circ$C was relatively stable in neutral and alkaline buffer but was inactivated in acidic buffer. SBP incubated at elevated temperatures experienced 1st order thermal …  Read more

Hendricks, C. (Supervisor)  Read more

Ideally, compilers should produce object code that is at least as efficient as hand-written code. The key step toward this goal is developing techniques by which a compiler can derive the information that can help in optimization. This is the concern of flow analysis. Recently, with the emergence of parallel computer systems, both parallelization of the compiler and production of code for parallel processors have become crucial issues for compiler development (1,2,3). This thesis presents new methods of compiler flow analysis for modern computer languages running on a uniprocessor or multiprocessor. These methods allow flow analysis information to be extracted …  Read more

Nitrate reductase (Nar) of F. canadensis is membrane-bound. Glucose is the most effective reductant to support nitrate uptake, and methyl and benzyl viologens are good electron donors to Nar both in intact cells and in membrane fractions. Nitrate uptake depends upon nitrate reduction, and requires the presence of active Nar. Nitrate transport depends upon the transmembrane pH gradient. Oxygen reversibly inhibits nitrate uptake, and the minimal air saturation for this inhibition is about 2-4%. Oxygen inhibits denitrification at the level of nitrate transport rather than its reduction. The reduction of both nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide by F. canadensis …  Read more

A simple and accurate multisheet Brewster angle measurement technique has been developed to measure substrate indices. Both K$ sp+$ and Ag$ sp+$ ion-exchanged optical waveguides in glass substrates were characterized for infrared wavelengths $ lambda=1.152$ and 1.523$ mu m.$ For the characterization of Ag$ sp+$ ion-exchange waveguide, the WKB method has been modified to handle the index truncation point at the waveguide boundary inside the substrate accurately. An explicit and stable finite-difference vector beam propagation method has also been developed for efficient numerical simulations of the guided-wave optical devices. A modified Y-branch wavelength multi/demultiplexer (abbreviated as WDM) for $ lambda=1.31$ …  Read more

Several types of catalytic and stoichiometric reactions of titanocenes and chiral ansa-titanocenes were studied. Dimethyltitanocene (DMT) and rac- (EBTHI) TiMe$ sb2$ (EBTHI = ethylene-1,2-bis (4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1-indenyl)) are effective catalyst precursors for hydrosilation of a variety of ketones when using in conjunction with secondary silanes. A catalyst generated by in situ reaction of enantiomerically pure S- (EBTHI) TiX$ sb2$ (X = Cl, 1/2(S-1,1$ sp prime$-binaphthyl-2,2$ sp prime$-diolate)) with MeLi catalyzes hydrosilation of dialkyl ketones to give, after hydrolysis, the enantioenriched secondary alcohols in up to 70% ee. This result compares favorably with the best chiral-phosphine/Rh catalysts for asymmetric hydrosilation of dialkyl ketones. …  Read more

Diode structures have been fabricated involving a thin film of bismuth or platinum deposited on a layer of polycrystalline trigonal selenium, itself deposited on a substrate of either bismuth or platinum. Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements on the diodes indicate that the Se-Bi and Se-Pt contacts are basically Schottky junctions with low barrier heights. Despite these barriers, near-ohmic contacts were obtained with bismuth or platinum layers thicker than about one micrometer, due to junction shunting. The barrier height for the Se-Pt contact was estimated to be about 0.3 volt below that of the Se-Bi contact. Negative capacitance, at a frequency of …  Read more

Systems modelling nanoscale structures have been studied in the context of the theory of energy level statistics in the ballistic and mesoscopic as well as the insulating regimes. Statistics were obtained using a new unfolding scheme based on the existence of a local stationary property for fluctuations of the energy spectra. Two different models were used in the study with particular emphasis on the relevance to the physics of nanoscale devices. Thus, a quantum billiard model composed of a quasi-two-dimensional tight-binding atomic lattice was introduced. The results of the statistical analysis of the spectra of the models were compared throughout …  Read more

Ce projet de recherche a pour but l'utilisation d'un réseau neuronal artificiel RNA afin de simuler et prédire les variations de la hauteur de nappe libre pour des systèmes de gestion différents, tels le drainage conventionnel de même que l'irrigation souterraine. Les données de bases sont les facteurs météorologiques, tels, precipitation, évapotranspiration et hauteur moyenne de la nappe libre. Les données de precipitation et d'évapotranspiration recueillies ont été utilisées afin d'obtenir les predictions d'un modèle informatique éprouvé connu sous le nom de DRAINMOD. Les résultats ainsi obtenus ont été utilises pour développer un modèle base sur les RNA. Les résultats …  Read more

The airline industry has entered into a new era. It has been under pressure to a regulatory reform from both inside and outside the industry. Traditional bilateralism has been challenged and a liberal regulatory approach has been called for. With the conclusion of the GATS, it seems that no single sector of service should be excluded from its ambit. The extension of GATS principles to the international air transport, especially to "hard right", will require a significant change in approach to trade in air services. It is submitted that the GATS multilateral approach is preferable to the existing regulatory arrangements …  Read more

Mili, H. (Supervisor)  Read more

Maioni, Antonia (Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis presents a survey of the development of economic growth theory, including the latest developments in the relationship between international economic integration through international flows of goods and/or knowledge and endogenous economic growth. Based on the following literature review, a new and more reasonable model for the research and development (i.e., the R&D) sector--a sector which is considered the source of long-run growth--is offered in order to develop and improve the framework built by Rivera-Batiz and Rome (1991), i.e. the RBR model. This new model will make the RBR framework more complete and rational. In this new model, it …  Read more

The studies presented in this thesis investigated the mechanism responsible for glucococorticoid secretion during graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and the role of endogenous glucocorticoids on the outcome of the disease. GVHD was induced in unirradiated F1 hybrid mice by an intravenous injection of parental lymphoid cells. Our results demonstrated that the secretion of glucocorticoids during GVHD was independent of pituitary adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). However, adrenal hyperactivity was associated with increased expression of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA in the adrenal glands of GVHD mice. Expression of adrenal POMC transcripts was not due to mononuclear infiltrates. The transcripts for interleukin-12, a cytokine produced by …  Read more

Having been influenced by the Muslim reformist ideas championed by Muhammad 'Abduh and his colleagues, Hamka attempted to disseminate and ameliorate the reform ideas in his country, Indonesia, through the means available to him; that is by preaching and writing. He was among the most prolific contemporary authors, having written 113 books including his monumental Tafsir al-Azhar. In this commentary, Hamka has probably included the sum of his ideas particularly those pertaining to religious aspects. With regards to the religious aspects, he mostly discusses the problems of theology, sufism and law. Hamka's conception of the law portrays his challenge and …  Read more

An experimental test program was conducted at McGill University which incorporated 14 castellated steel beams provided by Chaparral Steel. The notable feature of these beams is their thin webs. The modes of failure and their corresponding loads were predicted based on a number of previous studies. A nonlinear finite element analysis was carried out in order to provide a new assessment tool. The program used was NASTRAN. The geometrics of the castellated steel beams were predicted to be susceptible to web post buckling. The applied load which causes the formation of the mechanism failure (Redwood 1978), and the load which …  Read more

Stinner, Benjamin (Supervisor)  Read more

The study compared electrical brain activity of subjects in five different conditions: eyes-closed at rest, eyes-open at rest, looking at a flashing object, looking at apparent movement, and looking at real movement. Absolute theta and alpha power in the frontal and occipital areas were analyzed. Significant differences were found in the frontal area. Results suggest that perceived movement requires higher order cognitive processes outside the occipital area. Implications for education and cognitive research are discussed.  Read more

Osmond, Dennis G. (Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis investigates the dynamic characteristics of fast phase eye movements in the Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (VOR) and their application in vestibular lesion clinics. Eye responses in the VOR consist of alternations between slow phases (eye moves opposite to head) to stablize the eye in space and fast phases to quickly redirect the eye in space. At the end of each fast phase segment, the eye position appears well correlated with head velocity. In contrast to slow phases, fast phases are of quite short duration. Therefore, they must be detected precisely in order to do any further analysis. This thesis reports …  Read more

Autonomous grasping in dynamic environments where the object, the robot or both are moving is an increasingly common task in robotic applications. This thesis describes an online trajectory planner--a geometric controller--which evaluates a nonlinear memoryless function to map the current object position and velocity into a desired robot pose. If the robot tracks these set points, it is guaranteed to match the object's velocity and acceleration on a specified grasp surface. A planar simulation demonstrates that this paradigm performs favorably when compared with the traditional planning approach. Since it does not depend on future state predictions, no object model is …  Read more

Instruction scheduling and register allocation play very important roles in compilation techniques for high-performance computers. In this thesis we study different analyses and transformations that may affect the performance of instruction scheduling and register allocation. An important technique for increasing code parallelism is alias analysis. Alias analysis can reduce the number of dependences in a Data Dependence Graph (DDG) by disambiguating address references. Our study shows that points-to analysis, the alias analysis method implemented in the McCAT compiler, can substantially increase parallelism in benchmarks with indirect memory references. In this thesis we also discuss the phase ordering problem of instruction …  Read more

A Paul trap has been constructed for laser spectroscopic studies of the isotope shifts (IS) and hyperfine structures (hfs) of radioactive isotopes. With a sample placed near the inner surface of the ring electrode, the target atoms are evaporated by a Nd:YAG laser pulse, and then selectively ionized inside the trap by a synchronized dye laser pulse through resonance ionization spectroscopy (RIS). A cw beam from a ring dye laser is used to probe the ions, and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) is monitored for spectroscopic measurements. The stored ions can also be analyzed by the ion-ejection time-of-flight spectrum. With an ultra-high …  Read more

Drawing from cultural and social reproduction theory, this research studied the relationship between social class and parental involvement in education in modern China. The study paid particular attention to parents' educational background, professional occupation and socio-economic status, and how these factors contribute to their expectation and involvement in education. The research was an attempt to explore the importance of cultural and social capital in Chinese families, which has a decisive impact on children's educational experience. It also examined how class status were maintained and perpetuated from one generation to the next through parents' role in schooling, and through China's dual …  Read more

Changes in the secondary structure and aggregation of concanavalin A (Con A) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The secondary structure of Con A has been shown to be affected by factors such as temperature, pH, ionic strength, pressure and the presence of sugars. DSC studies indicated that the thermal stability of Con A is enhanced in the presence of salts, sugars and by pH. Detailed examination of the conformation-sensitive amide I band in the FTIR spectrum of Con A revealed that concentration, sugars, metal ions and pressure (range from 0-14.4 kbar) had …  Read more

Hydrosilation of $ alpha, beta$-unsaturated carbonyl compounds catalyzed by hydridotetrakis(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I) (2.20) was found to be highly regioselective, depending on the type of silicon hydrides used. Diphenylsilane was found to give 1,2-hydrosilation (100%), whereas dimethylphenylsilane and other monohydrosilanes gave 1,4-addition (100%). The kinetic isotope effect of the hydrosilation reaction was examined. A kinetic isotope effect of $k sb{H}/k sb{D}=2$ was observed in the hydrosilation of acetophenone (2.78) by dihydrosilane, $ rm H sb2SiPh sb2$ (2.21) and $ rm D sb2SiPh sb2$ (2.83), catalyzed by the complex 2.20. While a mixture of 1:1 labeled and unlabeled sec-phenethyl alcohols was obtained for the …  Read more

In order to establish if binding affinity could be improved by conformationally restricting the amide backbone, exo-amide-linked and endo-amide-linked 2$ sp prime$,3$ sp prime$-cyclopropanated dinucleoside analogs (e.g. dimers 35, 54, and 55) have been studied. The dimers were synthesized by coupling the corresponding cyclopropyl acids (5$ sp prime$-end building unit) with aminothymidines (3$ sp prime$-end building unit) by standard peptide synthesis methodology. After proper functionalizations, the dimers were incorporated into DNA sequences, and the effects of their incorporation into DNA-strands on binding to complementary DNA and RNA were evaluated. Different strategies were explored to prepare the carboxylic acid-functionalized 2$ sp …  Read more

Ro autoantigens are intracellular ribonucleoproteins of unknown function. Autoantibodies to these antigens are detected frequently in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and involved in the pathogenesis of lupus skin lesions. Although the mechanisms responsible for the induction of these autoantibodies and immunologic tissue damage are unclear, one possibility is that Ro autoantigens are expressed on the cell surface and induce an immune response. Cell surface expression of Ro antigens has been reported previously following ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation or estrogen stimulation of human keratinocytes. In this thesis, the effect of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection on the surface expression of …  Read more

The purpose of this Thesis is to study adaptive acoustical echo cancellation for signals with variable-rank covariance matrices. Solutions based on the least-mean-square (LMS) algorithm are presented, with the focus being on discrete-cosine-transform-(DCT) domain finite-impulse-response (FIR) filters. In speech-related applications, the covariance matrix of the reference signal is ten nearly singular, i.e., rank-deficient, which has the effect that some of the transform-domain tap coefficients stop adapting and effectively "freeze". During is low-rank phase, this frozen taps can retain any value without effect on the mean-square error (MSE), while the remaining taps track the evolution of the system and keep the …  Read more

This thesis proposes a modification of Chomsky's (1992) theory of locality to deal with restructuring phenomena which allow an apparent violation of the locality condition on certain local processes. Various restructuring phenomena including long-distance NP movement exemplified by long-distance Object Preposing (Chapter 2) and long-distance head movement exemplified by clitic climbing (Chapter 3) are examined cross linguistically. Long-distance anaphora (Chapter 4) are also examined based on the view the locality on various types of anaphor-antecedent relationships follow from the theory of movement. It is argued that the peculiar behavior of restructuring constructions in terms of locality follows from the lexical …  Read more