McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1996

This thesis presents two applications of binary tries. Trie structures are used as indexes to store and query spatial data on secondary storage. This thesis deals with point and segment data. Maps are treated as a series of segments in the plane, and links between these maps and other maps or pictures are treated as point data. Maps are stored as Zoom tries on secondary storage. Zoom tries allow efficient accesses to the maps at different levels of resolution. They also allow efficient implementations of range queries. Furthermore, this trie organization provides good data compression. We implement four operations on …  Read more

Icebergs offshore Newfoundland represent hazards to both ships and constructed facilities, such as off-shore oil production facilities. Collision with icebergs represent hazards for both surface and sub-surface facilities. In the latter case, hazards are associated with seabed scouring by the iceberg keel. In both cases, hazard analysis requires estimation of the flux of icebergs and their size distribution. Estimates of the flux of icebergs can be achieved by obtaining separate estimates of iceberg densities and of drift patterns of iceberg velocities. The objective of this thesis is to develop and apply estimation procedures for the density of icebergs using presently …  Read more

A study was conducted on the reaction of solid MgO formed from magnesite (MgCO$ sb3),$ with Cl$ sb2$ and CO gas, in a stirred tank reactor containing a liquid bath of MgCl$ sb2.$ The reaction rate was found to be controlled by CO mass transfer from the gas to the liquid phase and was zero order with respect to the concentration of MgO. At temperatures from 743 to $824 sp circ$C, the reaction rate exhibited an activation energy of 80 kJ/mol, which is typical of a diffusion controlled reaction. The chlorinaton rate was effected by both temperature and CO/Cl$ sb2$ …  Read more

The ability to accurately manipulate the spectral content of audio is indispensable for the artistic presentation of sound. While there are many devices currently available that are capable of performing this function, most tend to be either highly complex electrical engineering tools, or music-oriented products that are limited in functionality. Filter Designer was created to fill this gap by providing an environment with which musically-trained users can design and implement digital filters, while having access to control parameters and analysis data previously exclusive to the engineering field. This work explores the factors that motivated the creation of Filter Designer, and …  Read more

In a multicultural society educators face the problem of identifying and promoting values that help people to interact in a peaceful and just manner. Instead of imposing values through indoctrination educators can promote multicultural values by designing and enacting curricula that help children to self-generate and choose these values. I have developed a curriculum that uses international folktales to promote multicultural values without imposing them. This thesis is a holistic rendering of theory and practice in respect to the curriculum developed. The theory emphasizes multiculturalism and folktales as children's literature with a brief discussion of values education, qualitative research, anthropology, …  Read more

Glycophosphatidyl-inositol (GPI)-linked carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family members, including CEA itself, are absent in rodents and seem to have evolved recently. We have shown previously that CEA-CEA binding required for intercellular adhesion involves a double reciprocal interaction between the N-terminal (N domain) and internal A3B3 domains of anti-parallel molecules on apposed cell surfaces. To answer the question of whether this binding mechanism also evolved with CEA, the adhesive binding mechanism for transmembrane biliary glycoprotein (BGP), presumably more primordial, was investigated. Since CEA and BGP can be expressed on the same cells, and can have opposite effects on the cell phenotype, heterotypic …  Read more

The influence of some important factors, such as the provision of a central reinforcement cage and longitudinal beam the shear walls, on the nonlinear seismic response of coupled shear wall structures was studied using three 1/3-scale reinforced concrete models, and reported in this thesis. In the first specimen a central reinforcement cage was provided in the slab between the shear walls. In the second and third models this central cage was replaced by a longitudinal beam. In addition, transverse concealed beams were provided at critical wall-toe regions. The flexural capacities of the concealed transverse beams were different in the second …  Read more

This thesis presents a comparative study between two reforming movements emanating from the Aryan (Indo-Iranian) tradition: Early Zarathushtrianism and Early Buddhism. Although this thesis establishes the common origin of Zarathushtrianism and Buddhism, the principal purpose of this research is to demonstrate the social commitment of the two movements. Zarathyshtra and the Buddha are discerned in this discussion as reformers struggling against the religious institutions (worshipped gods and observed rites) and the social system of their time as the latter represented exclusively the aspirations of the dominating knightly or priestly classes. This treatise is primarily interested in the social message conveyed …  Read more

Cette thèse démontre l'efficacité d'un nouveau modèle d'éléments finis non-linéaires pour la prédiction du comportement enflexion des structures en béton armé. Le modèle d'éléments fiis NONLACS2 ideélise les composantes par le biais de couches multiples pour le béton et l'armature. Le modèle inclue une procédure pour éliminer la dépendance sur le degre de la discrétisation, des courbes contraintes-déformations pour le béton normal et le béton hautes performances en compression, de nouveaux modèles pour le béton en tension et l'augmentation de la résistance en tension, et pour les déformations ultimes en tension et en compression du béton.[...] Les logiciels NONLACS et …  Read more

On the basis of sedimentary structures and textures, six depositional facies have been identified in Labrador Slope, Rise and Basin cores. They include: (1) turbid-surface plume sediments (facies P; plumites) comprising 4% of the total length of the slope cores; (2) hemipelagic sediments (facies HI and H) with and without ice-rafted debris (IRD) (48% and 20% on the slope/rise and basin centre, respectively); (3) nepheloid-layer deposits (facies N; 9% on the slope); (4) contourites (facies C; 4% on the slope); (5) turbidite facies (30% on the slope and $>$40% on the levees of the Northwest Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel, NAMOC) with …  Read more

In this thesis, we address issues in the specification, simulation, and formal verification of systems that are characterzed by real-time constraints and a mix of protocol and data computation aspects. We propose a novel specification language and modeling methodology--HAAD (Hierarchical Annotated Action Diagrams). In HAAD, the interface behavior or a system is captured as a hierarchy of action diagrams. The internal behavior is modeled by an Extended Finite State Machine (EFSM). A leaf action diagram defines a behavior (a template) over a set of ports. Procedures and predicates are attached to actions in order to describe the functional aspects of …  Read more

A novel method has been developed for the measurement of the activity coefficients of an amino acid and the mean ionic activity coefficients of an electrolyte in water-electrolyte-amino acid systems. The method uses an electrochemical cell with two ion selective electrodes and a reference electrode. Activity coefficient data, at 298.15 K, for eight water-electrolyte-amino acid systems were measured. The cell consisted of a cation and an anion ion selective electrode, and the potential of each was measured versus a double junction reference electrode. The amino acids studied were glycine, DL-alanine, DL-valine and DL-serine and the electrolytes studied were NaCl and …  Read more

Overbreak and damage to rock walls is one of the most serious problems encountered in blasting operations. Several techniques have been developed to control the undesirable effects of rock blasting. These techniques are collectively known as wall-control blasting methods. The stress distribution around pressurized holes has been numerically evaluated, in order to analyze the mechanism of wall-control blasting methods. The effect of blast geometry and the role of discontinuity on this stress field has also been studied in detail. The results obtained by numerical modelling have been verified by controlled blasting experiments, and further supported by analysis of existing roadcuts …  Read more

Overbreak and damage to rock walls is one of the most serious problems encountered in blasting operations. Several techniques have been developed to control the undesirable effects of rock blasting. These techniques are collectively known as wall-control blasting methods. The stress distribution around pressurized holes has been numerically evaluated, in order to analyze the mechanism of wall-control blasting methods. The effect of blast geometry and the role of discontinuity on this stress field has also been studied in detail. The results obtained by numerical modelling have been verified by controlled blasting experiments, and further supported by analysis of existing roadcuts …  Read more

This research was carried out to identify salt tolerant potato genotypes in vitro among 131 tetraploid potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum), 9 diploid simple hybrid clones (4 clones of S. chacoense $ times$ S. tuberosum, 4 clones of S. phureja/S. stenotomum $ times$ S. tuberosum, and 1 clone of S. tuberosum $ times$ S. tuberosum), 1 primitive cultivated diploid S. phureja/S. stenotomum accession, 12 tetraploid complex hybrids, and 13 diploid S. chacoense accessions. Four levels of NaCl (0, 40, 80, and 120 mM) were used. The cultivars, and the simple and complex hybrids were tested for salt tolerance at the vegetative …  Read more

Board-to-board electrical connectivity is a limiting factor for very high bandwidth electronic backplanes. Many physical constraints such as maximum copper trace line density, power consumption of line drivers, transmission line effects and heat dissipation, limit the maximum data throughput achievable for conventional electronic backplanes. On the other hand, photonic backplanes do not have many of the physical limitations that electronic backplanes do. Therefore, by replacing the electronic transceivers in a backplane with optical transmitters and receivers, we can circumvent many of the limitations of conventional electronic backplanes and obtain higher data traffic. This thesis examines the use of vertical-cavity surface-emitting …  Read more

This thesis identifies Diderot's criticism of idealism in his novels and stories concerning three aspects: metaphysics, morals and psychology. The conclusions of this study are the following: religions has, in Diderot's opinion, more negative than positive effects; myths and superstitions prevent the search for truth; fatalism cannot be accepted as a valid philosophic theory; traditional morals and its concept of virtue go against human nature and produce moral "idiotisms"; judicial system creates crimes where nature did not; "anti-natural" morals requires humans to adopt utopic ideal attitudes the effect of which is to mentally unbalance them and lead them to debauchery; …  Read more

Although C. S. Lewis was not a metaphor theorist, the issue of metaphor appears often enough in his writings for one to cull from them a general theoretical view. This thesis attempts to examine Lewis's thoughts on metaphor against the background of modern metaphor theory. Forty or fifty years ago such a study would have been less fruitful, for his views on metaphor so differed from contemporary theorists that their works offered no positive atmosphere in which to approach his work. Now, however, the general tenor of certain streams in metaphor theory has become more amenable to his views. Indeed, …  Read more

Morphological and electrophysical properties of layer II neurons from the medial entorhinal cortex were investigated in a rat brain slice preparation to enhance our understanding of the role the entorhinal cortex plays in the gating of afferent stimuli to the hippocampal formation. Morphological characterization revealed that layer II projection neurons fell into two distinct categories. 65% of neurons were identified as the stellate cells described previously. The remaining 35% had, for the most, a pyramidal-like morphology, and were referred to as non-stellates. Electrophysiological characterization revealed that stellates and non-stellates had distinct electroresponsive properties. Notably, stellates, upon d.c. depolarization, generated subthreshold, …  Read more

Peck, J. (Supervisor)  Read more

A graph is a triangulation if it is planar and every face is a triangle. A triangulation is rooted if the external triangular face is labelled. Two rooted triangulations with the same external face labels are isomorphic if their internal vertices can be labelled so that both triangulations have identical edge lists. In this thesis, we show that in the set of rooted triangulations on n points with minimum degree four, there exists a target triangulation $E sbsp{n}{ *}$ such that any other triangulation $E sb{n} not=E sbsp{n}{ *}$ in the set can be transformed to $E sbsp{n}{ *}$ via …  Read more

When a successful software system is maintained and evolved for an extended period of time, original design documents become obsolete and design rationales become lost, so reverse engineering activities to reconstruct such information become critical for the software's continued viability. Pattern matching provides a solid framework for identifying higher level abstractions that may be instances of predefined plans (commonly used algorithms and cliches), programming concepts, or abstract data types and operations. This thesis discusses two types of pattern-matching techniques developed for plan recognition in Program Understanding. The first type is based on Software Metrics and Dynamic Programming techniques that allow …  Read more

This Master's thesis proposes to examine the place of space in five works by Andre Breton which are: Nadja (1928); Les Vases communicants (1932); L'Amour fou (1937); Arcane 17 (1945); Martinique charmeuse de serpents (1948). The first chapter of this thesis deals with the problem of space and its definitions through a sequence of seven authors who propose different perspectives. The second chapter explores the literary, the imaginary and the textual spaces in the aforementionned works while taking into account numerous surrealist concepts proposed by Breton.  Read more

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether young infants would differentiate sedative vocal music in their mother tongue versus sedative vocal music in a foreign language. It was hypothesized that if infants did discriminate between the two languages, they would demonstrate a preference for their mother tongue. The responses of ten one- to four-day-old full-term infants were recorded by measuring their sucking rate while presenting lullabies. The infants were randomly and evenly divided into two groups. The first group heard four presentations of the mother tongue version followed by four presentations of the foreign language version. The second …  Read more

The airline industry has been the subject of numerous studies both before and after deregulation. None of these, however have explicitly modelled the cost savings due to deregulation. This thesis develops a number of testable hypotheses about technological and managerial choice as they pertain to regulatory reform. The results of the tests show that the production technology the airlines developed post-deregulation is not unambiguously more efficient than the pre-deregulatoin technology. The unregulated output and network structure, however, appear to be more efficient than those utilized during regulation. A model is developed to decompose the change in cost due to deregulation. …  Read more

A series of tests was performed in winter 1996 to measure degradation of paper mulches with the help of physical and mechanical properties. Four types of paper used for mulching, kraft paper gauge 40, 60 and 80 and waxed paper were laid over soil in two growth chambers. They were kept under observation for 27 days under controlled temperature, humidity and light. Mulches were sprayed with water to simulate rain. Tensile and puncture tests were performed on each type of paper every day. Four mechanical properties; stress, strain, energy and tensile energy absorption were calculated from the force-deformation curve obtained …  Read more

Commutation signalling is an antimultipath technique employing direct-sequence bandwidth spreading for combatting multipath induced ISI. We propose a CDMA-like multiple-access scheme which utilizes this inherent spreading for broadband cellular indoor wireless communications. The intra-cell multiple-access is by time division while the inter-cell interference is reduced via combined frequency and code division. The frequency bands of adjacent cells overlap to increase bandwidth efficiency. We consider the interference between spread-spectrum signals with partially overlapping spectra and apply the results to the analysis of this cellular system. The uplink and downlink are considered with and without cell sectorization. The downlink is used for …  Read more

Whitesides, Sue (Supervisor)  Read more

Kearney, R. E. (Supervisor)  Read more

Biliary glycoproteins (BGPs), members of the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family, have been observed to be down-regulated at the mRNA and protein levels in a number of epithelial malignancies. To investigate the potential tumor suppressive role of BGP, two murine Bgpl cDNA isoforms were introduced into a mouse colonic carcinoma cell line. Transfected cells bearing either Bgpl isoform exhibited a reduced growth rate in culture and a reduced ability to form colonies in soft agar. However, when cells transfected with the Bgpl isoform bearing the longer cytoplasmic domain (73 amino acids) were injected into syngeneic mice, tumor formation was inhibited by …  Read more

The effects of electrical stimulation protocols on the spontaneous activity of multicellular experimental cardiac preparations are examined. Particular attention is drawn to the contribution of stimulation history to the dynamics observed under different experimental protocols. The experimental study focuses on phase resetting, periodic stimulation and fixed delay stimulation of embryonic chick heart cell aggregates. In addition, similar experiments are carried out on rabbit atrioventricular cell clusters to draw a comparison between the dynamics in rapid and slow inward current cardiac preparations. Three classes of models of the rhythmic behaviour are considered. The Shrier-Clay ionic model of electrical activity in spontaneously …  Read more

The classical molecular dynamics model is used for a study of the possible nuclear phase transition in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies. We implemented this model through Monte Carlo techniques. Different kinds of initial configurations are considered, as well as different methods of particles propagation. In order to simulate the canonical ensemble dynamic evolution we investigate two methods of keeping the temperature constant. We consider a system of 85 nucleons interacting through two-body nucleon-nucleon potential. The calculations are first carried out ignoring Coulomb interaction and then including it. Data on various thermodynamic quantities are obtained and the question of …  Read more

The effects of temperature on a 58-kDa phosphoprotein (PP58) have been examined in cell-free extracts of two alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars, Apica and Trek. In the extracts prepared without the use of Triton X-100, PP58 is present in a 12,000 x g (P12), 28,000 x g (P28) and 100,000 x g (P100) pellets but is enriched in the P28 fraction. In these fractions PP58 is substantially and equally phosphorylated at both 4° and 24°C. When extracts are prepared in the presence Triton X-100, PP58 is present in the 28,000 x g supernatant (TXS fraction) is extensively dephosphorylated at 24°C …  Read more

Pouliot, Jean (Supervisor)  Read more

The purpose of this study is to provide a precise and exhaustive study as well as an analysis of the place occupied by the banking security under Quebec Law in relation to the coming into force of the Civil Code of Quebec on January 1st 1994. The author shall emphasize her research on specific elements that have changed with the existence of new rules of civil law and that will contribute to the creation of new conflicts between financing banks of specific classes of debtors under the Bank Act mechanism and the other creditors of the latter. A first step …  Read more

Two aspects of quantum field theory in curved spacetimes are discussed. First, the limits for applicability of the equivalence principle in the context of low energy effective field theories is considered. In particular, we find three classes of higher-derivative interactions for the gravitational and electromagnetic fields which produce dispersive photon propagation. One of these classes of interactions also produces birefringent propagation. This result is illustrated by calculating the energy-dependent contribution to the bending of light. In the second part, the divergences appearing in statistical black hole entropy are analysed. Using a Pauli-Villars regulator, it is shown that 't Hooft's approach …  Read more

An experimental apparatus was designed and constructed for the study of laminar mixed convection heat transfer in vertical, horizontal and inclined tubes. The working fluid was distilled water, with bulk temperatures in the range of 8$ sp circ$C to 31$ sp circ$C. An innovative design allows, for the first time, flow visualization over the entire heated portion of the test section. The key element of this design is a thin, electrically conductive gold-film heater suitably attached to the outside surface of a plexiglas pipe: the gold film is approximately 80% transparent to electromagnetic radiation in the visible wavelength band. This …  Read more

Segal, Bernard (Supervisor)  Read more

Langley, Ann (Supervisor)  Read more

This is a study of various methods for the analysis of the returned power measured by a laser ceilometer. The calibration constant of the ceilometer is computed, and used to solve for atmospheric optical extinction profiles, in various cases of haze and precipitation. Other methods of analysis, requiring simultaneous measurements with a UHF boundary layer profiler, are also used to find extinction profiles. A comparison between the extinction profiles found using the different analysis techniques is provided. The results indicate that the method of solution that uses the calibration constant of the ceilometer is the most accurate. This work is …  Read more

The expansion of Built Environment Education into art programs is a relatively recent phenomenon but very timely. The need to develop in students an understanding of their living environment is urgent as they inherit a world that is experiencing the depletion of its resources and erosion of its ecological balance. There is a fundamental need for more comprehensive curriculum planning in built environment education. The goal of this research is to develop a curriculum paradigm that can be used to create curriculum plans and instructional designs for built environment education as part of the art class in secondary schools. The …  Read more

The subject of this doctoral dissertation is a thematic study of the representation of the Resistance in French fiction films since 1944. This work encompasses the larger fields of history and memory of the Resistance and the Second World War. It is a cinematographic historiography which explores 50 years of film production about the French Resistance. It analyzes the historical choices put forward by film, the censorship which had to be overcome, as well as the sources it used. It also examines how film contributes to the formation of historical consciousness. These developments are compared with the written history of …  Read more

Hydro-Quebec operates actually 476 hydraulic structures from which more than one-third are made out of concrete. Many of these structures show signs of aging which mainly consist of deterioration of concrete surfaces due to erosion and freeze-thaw cycles. Repair of these deteriorations requires the use of materials which are available from a wide variety of manufacturers. Most of the time informations on the various physico-mechanical properties of such repair materials are insufficient or unavailable. This thesis, in addition to furnishing a complete guide on the repair materials and techniques of deteriorated concrete surfaces, gives the results obtained from the inquiry …  Read more

A research project was undertaken to study the hydrology and water quality of a 26 km$ sp2$ intensive agricultural watershed over an 18 month period. Flow and precipitation data were used to establish hydrologic parameters for the watershed and to empirically model hydrologic processes. Water samples taken from the outlet of the watershed were analyzed for nitrate, phosphate, suspended sediment and atrazine. Water quality data were analyzed to establish temporal trends in pollutant concentration and load in the watercourse. The measured time of concentration was found to be consistent with a mean of 6.89 hours for the 25 storms profiled. …  Read more

The object of this thesis is to study the monologue, a dramatic genre that re-emerged on the Spanish literary scene in the 1970s. Despite the fact that a number of well-known Iberian playwrights have cultivated this genre assiduously over the past three decades, their work has received relatively little critical attention from either academic or theatre circles. What is sought here, therefore, is the means to demonstrate the importance and richness of the monologue as an autonomous dramatic creation. To do this it was necessary to establish a sufficiently large corpus--some eighty long and short monologues--and identify those particular conventions …  Read more

This thesis introduces a skeletal representation of the "kind" of individual Doris Lessing promotes in her work. Organized around five semantic qualifiers, this analysis explores a number of Lessing's works belonging to several literary categories for evidence of the appearance of the daring, self-aware, public, engaged, and vocal individual. It argues that Lessing, as a humanist, is committed to individual personal actualization but that this is tempered with her personnally held views about what is valuable and enriching human experience. It concludes that as author of fictional tales, autobiographical texts as well as political essays, she designs the path of …  Read more

A powerful new class of microscope, the Atomic Force Microscope, has led to a deeper understanding of the nanoscale world. The Scanning Probe Microscopy group at McGill University has developed an AFM whose general design lends itself readily to imaging, spectroscopy, and manipulation on an atomic scale. There are many challenges to building such a system. A major concern is the isolation of the microscope from external vibration sources, such as building vibration, people walking and talking next to the microscope, etc. These vibrations are orders of magnitude larger than the precision needed to detect the small variations of an …  Read more

Medical professions associated with time pressured environments, incorporate apprenticeship as part of training. While our understanding of decision making has moved towards examining these environments, how does this knowledge apply to instruction in these contexts? Specific reasoning strategies identified by Patel are useful in assessing medical instruction. Rasmussen's guidelines and Patel's protocol analytic methods are applied in this thesis to assess two time-pressured environments of a local hospital. In the medical and surgical intensive care unit, resident physician instruction and patient care co-occur withing the context of problem solving and decision making. Differences between the two environments include a flattened …  Read more

The nucleotide sequence of a cloned RAPD DNA marker (OPI08) linked to a disease resistance gene in L. sativa (lettuce) revealed homology with the conserved domain of the reverse transcriptase of Ty3/gypsy retrotransposons. To further characterize the presence of Ty3/gypsy-like sequences in plants, sets of degenerate primers deduced from archetype retrotransposons were used for PCR amplification of a sequence domain characteristic of the reverse transcriptase and the integrase of Ty3/gypsy retrotransposons. The nucleotide sequence of two cloned DNA fragments of Z. mays (maize) and A. thaliana proved to be homologous with the conserved domains of the reverse transcriptase and the …  Read more

When the Y chromosome of a Mus. musculus domesticus mouse strain is placed onto the C57BL/6J(B6) background, half of the XY (B6.Y$ rm sp{Dom})$ progeny develop as females, which ovulate very few eggs and fail to develop zygotes beyond the two-cell stage. In the present study, oocyte-cumulus complexes were isolated from ovaries of juvenile B6.Y$ rm sp{Dom}$ females, as well as XX and XO females for comparison, and matured and fertilized in vitro. The results indicate that (1) In vitro procedure yielded far more mature oocytes than through ovulation; (2) The oocytes underwent apparently normal nuclear maturation, but failed to …  Read more