McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1998

This thesis examines the heroines in Middle English romances and argues that, like the noblewomen who lived in England during the Plantagenet period, they are not helpless princesses simply waiting to be rescued by the brave, strong hero. In fact, these heroines show an enormous amount of intelligence, ingenuity, perseverance, and strength of character. Many play a pivotal role in the hero's success in his quest by giving him a token, providing knowledge, or teaching him a lesson. Also, it is the heroines who provide the heroes with rewards after the quests are completed. The present thesis offers a contribution …  Read more

Src family protein tyrosine kinases are involved in the regulation of a large number of cellular processes in response to extracellular stimuli. Their crucial role in the initiation of cellular activation of T-lymphocytes following stimulation of the T-cell receptor by an antigen has sparked great interest in better understanding the regulation of their catalytic activity and function. The protein tyrosine kinase Csk is the major negative regulator of Src-related kinases through its ability to phosphorylate a negative regulatory tyrosine, in their carboxy-terminal region. By virtue of its negative impact on Src-like enzymes, Csk is capable of down-regulating T-cell activation. Nevertheless, …  Read more

Over half of the earth's dry surface is inaccessible to wheeled or tracked vehicles. Even relatively structured indoor or urban environments with steps, stairs, or narrow hallways, are challenging for most wheeled or tracked systems. This is one of the primary motivations for the study of mobile robots with legs. We propose a new type of quadruped robot with maximum mechanical simplicity---the SCOUT class. Most robots built to date possess many actuated degrees of freedom (DOF) (three or four per leg) thus making them too expensive for practical use. SCOUT robots, on the other hand, feature only one actuated degree …  Read more

This study aimed to better understand the clearance of myelin debris during Wallerian degeneration in the goldfish visual paths. Myelin debris was first examined immunohistochemically in the presence or absence of regenerating axons. From these preliminary experiments it was apparent that the clearance of myelin debris was not affected by regenerating axons and that the debris was removed in a differential pattern along the visual pathway. Specifically, in the distal stump of the nerve as well as in the optic tract, myelin debris had been effectively cleared by one-month postoperative, while in the cranial segment of the nerve debris persisted …  Read more

This research examines the retention of Pb and Cd by kaolinite, humic acid (HA) and mackinawite, and mixtures of these three materials. Some aspects of how pH influences metal retention and how the pH is changed by interactions between the sediment components and the metals, are considered. Initial metal concentrations ranged from 0.24 mmol/L to 22 mmol/L. The proportion of solid material to solution for sediments containing kaolinite was 0.1, and for the sediments without kaolinite was 0.001 or 0.002. It was found that the principal mechanism of metal retention by mackinawite was through lattice exchange, particularly over the lower …  Read more

The purposes of this study were to determine (1) how running kinematics varied across two different speeds (200 and 268m/min), (2) to what degree intense interval training sessions affected running mechanics and (3) whether these changes correlated to changes in running economy (RE). Eleven highly trained male endurance athletes (average VO2max = 72.5 +/- 4.3 ml/kg/min) performed three intense interval running workouts of 10 x 400m at an average running velocity of 357.9 +/- 9.0 m/min, with a minimum of 4 days between runs. Recovery duration between trials was randomly assigned at 60s, 120s, and 180s. The following biomechanical variables …  Read more

This thesis involves a comprehensive review of the personality, psychiatric, and genetic risk factors for alcoholism and drug abuse. Based on this review, it is hypothesised that specific risk factors cluster together to represent separate vulnerability pathways to substance abuse and that differential susceptibility to the pharmacological effects of drugs of abuse (reinforcement and intoxication) mediates the relationship between such risk characteristics and drug-taking behaviour. A series of four studies are presented indicating that groups of individuals characterized by different risk factors for alcoholism are differentially sensitive to the reinforcing properties of alcohol. Non-alcoholic young adult men presumed to be …  Read more

The carrot weevil, Listronotus oregonensis (LeConte) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is an insect pest in carrot production in Ontario. The aim of this study was to survey the egg parasitoids attacking the carrot weevil in carrot fields in Ontario, and elucidate the seasonal and chemical ecology of these natural enemies. Field surveys were conducted during three years in commercial carrot fields in the Holland Marsh and district marshes to detect the presence of carrot weevil egg parasitoids, to determine their geographical distribution and to evaluate the effect of insecticides on the rate of emergence and the activity of parasitoid adults. Two egg …  Read more

The mineral processing group of McGill University developed a novel gas holdup probe that consists of two conductivity flow cells: an open cell used to estimate dispersion (slurry + air) conductivity and a syphon cell used to estimate slurry conductivity. These two values are entered into Maxwell's model to calculate gas holdup. In this work some design criteria for conductivity flow cells and the syphon cell are given. Effect of geometrical cell constant and electrode width on cell behaviour are analyzed. New dimensions for open and syphon cells are proposed. Conditions to prevent bubbles from being entrained into the syphon …  Read more

A debate is presently taking place about the respective training and roles of general internists and medical subspecialists in the provision of speciallized care in Canada. However, very little evidence is available in the literature to document expected differences in the impact of generalized and subspecialized internal medicine care on utilization of health care resources and on outcomes of care. Our goal was to describe and compare the number of subsequent referrals for consultation to specialists, between patients referred initially to general internists, in comparison to patients referred initially to cardiologists, pneumologists, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, or rheumatologists. We also compared measures …  Read more

The first contemporary approaches to moral education emphasize, moral reasoning skills and value analysis. The possible role of imagination in moral understanding is, by and large, neglected. More recent approaches suggest engaging the imagination can benefit moral education. The concept of imagination, however, remains elusive. As the capacity to consider the possible beyond the actual, imagination is a valued educational tool. It is offered that morality and the opportunity for meaningful interpretation of human experience may best be conveyed in symbolic terms. Metaphor, once viewed as an ornamental product of language, has been rediscovered; claiming a position in our comprehension …  Read more

It has now been accepted for several years, that a receptors exist as at least two distinct entities denoted sigma1 and sigma 2. We have previously shown in our laboratory that several seIective sigma 1 ligands potentiate the neuronal response to NMDA in the dorsal hippocampus of rat. The non selective beta/sigma2 ligand, DTG, also potentiates the neuronal response. However, when it is administered at doses between 3 and 40 mug/kg, the increase of NMDA-induced activation turns in to an epileptoid activity. Data presented in this thesis suggest that similarly to sigma 1 ligands, selective sigma2 ligands such as Lu …  Read more

Connecting with Courage (CWC) is a three-day Outward Bound self-discovery programme, designed by women for women. It was developed to bring feminist theory to bear on outdoor and experiential education (OEE). The re-thinking of OEE research from a feminist standpoint is less than two decades old. It began by challenging previous assumptions about participants in OEE as male and set out to explore women's different experiences and needs in OEE programmes. However while this new literature criticised the standard OEE literature for universalising male participants' experiences, it tended to provide a universalist and essentialist view of women's experiences and needs …  Read more

The initiation of mRNA translation in eukaryotes is a highly regulated process that impacts on the study of oncology, virology, and molecular embryology. Translation requires several eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) that promote binding of ribosomes to the mRNA. Phosphorylation of eIF2, the factor that binds the initiator methionyl-tRNA, occurs in response to a variety of cell stresses, and results in inhibition of translation. The dsRNA-activated protein kinase PKR mediates phosphorylation of eIF2alpha upon viral infection, and possesses anti-viral and anti-proliferative properties. We studied the role of an insert sequence located between kinase subdomains IV and V of PKR, for both …  Read more

It has been suggested that the transport of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is set, essentially, by the southward Sverdrup flux at latitudes just north of Drake Passage. Although this idea is consistent with observations, it has been critized in that Sverdrup dynamics fail at Drake Passage latitudes. Here, we think of the total transport as being comprised of two components: one associated with the basin-like dynamics to the north of Drake Passage and the other associated with the dynamics of the Drake Passage latitude band itself. The Drake Passage latitudes are often simulated using channel models with bottom topography. For …  Read more

Successional changes in a habitat may result in bottlenecks where few individuals in a population survive. During such events, changes in the genetic architecture of traits are predicted to occur as is subsequent inbreeding depression. In two literature reviews, I document that, (1) dominance variance increases in traits that are subject to strong selection and, (2) inbreeding depression is substantially higher in the wild as compared to captive populations. In addition to these changes, successional pressures may also result in the evolution of morphologies that allow organisms to avoid unfavourable conditions. A common dimorphism in insects is wing dimorphism, in …  Read more

A technique using fluorescence spectroscopy was developed to measure the concentration of phospholipid biosurfactant produced by Corynebacterium alkanolyticum. Synchronous cultures of this organism were grown in a self-cycling fermentor (SCF). Application of a standard cycling scheme to the fermentor allowed for production of between 0.82 and 1.10 g/L of biosurfactant, depending on the rate of aeration to the system. Asynchronous cultures grown under the same operating conditions produced only 0.75 g/L of phospholipid. Extension of isolated fermentor cycles allowed for further increases in biosurfactant production by the synchronous culture. Extending a cycle for ninety minutes increased the phospholipid concentration to …  Read more

In this thesis, a controller design methodology to reduce hysteresis is introduced. Rate independent hysteresis is seen as an input-output phase lag, where the output can be saturated or not. The compensation is based on controllers derived from the Phaser, a frequency domain operator that shifts its periodic input signal by a phase angle ϕ, with unitary gain. When the phase angle varies, a variable phaser is shown to be able to handle minor hysteresis loops. The reduction of saturated or asymmetric hysteresis can be obtained using also the variable phaser. Practical implementations of these controllers are given and discussed. …  Read more

In modern radiotherapy, 3D conformal dose distributions are achieved using several beam ports each having pre-calculated planar distributions of photon beam intensity. The intensity matrix for a given beam port is generated by independent motion of the leaves of a multileaf collimator (MLC). In this thesis, we have used the step-and-shoot approach to intensity-modulated beam delivery, the safest and most popular approach at the moment. The first component of this thesis was to write a leaf sequence algorithm to control the MLC fitted to our Clinac 2300 C/D linear accelerator. Our algorithm is more efficient than other published step-and-shoot type …  Read more

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an ubiquitous pathogen which can cause severe opportunistic infection in immune compromised or suppressed patients. Current vaccine strategies use recombinant glycoprotein gB subunits; however, little is known about the immunogenicity of this glycoprotein and the possible induction of autoimmunity. Using established ELISA assays and immunoblotting, anti-viral and autoantibody responses were detected following intraperitoneal injection of a recombinant Adenovirus-gB construct. The immune response to gB was studied in MRL/mpj (H-2k), BALB/c (H-2d), C3H (H-2 k) and BALB.k (H-2k) mice. A significant IgG anti-viral response was induced in all four strains. IgG autoantibodies, including Rheumatoid Factor (RF), anti-DNA, and …  Read more

Focusing on the A-text (1604) version of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus , this study further assesses biographical information on the poet and intellectual currents of the Counter Reformation, so as to investigate the play's relation to emergent trends of individualism in the Renaissance, recovery of the pagan past, and intellectual aspirations that could readily collide with orthodoxy. Clearly reflecting anxieties of the period about individual deviance from social norms through intellectual overreaching, Doctor Faustus powerfully testifies to the potential dangers of human aspiration and the scholarly spirit of unbounded learning. While thus exploring the exotic temptations of forbidden knowledge, the play …  Read more

This thesis presents the systematic analysis of azimuthal distributions of identified charged particles produced in Au+Au collisions at 11.5 A·GeV/c at the AGS measured with respect to the reaction plane. A Fourier expansion is used to describe the azimuthal anisotropy in particle production. Directed flow of protons, deuterons, pi+/-, K+/- and antiprotons is presented as a function of transverse momentum for different particle rapidities and collision centralities. Directed flow of protons and that of deuterons are well described by a simple sideward moving and radially expanding thermal source model; the observed behavior of the directed flow of pi+/- indicates the …  Read more

The implementation of sustainable development is the social imperative of the 21st century, requiring strong leadership by governments at all levels. As the logical convenor of constituent groups in civil society, governments have a key role to play in diffusing its concepts and practices in the next decade, before critical thresholds are reached. This role will not be realized, however, without a guiding framework across governments that provides consistent and effective leadership to other sectors of Canadian society, equally supported by a new framework for governance based on human responsibility and the interconnectedness of human and natural systems. These frameworks …  Read more

High blood pressure is associated with decreased sensitivity to pain in humans and animals. Interestingly, hypoalgesia has also been observed in normotensive organisms at risk for hypertension, suggesting that it may be related to processes involved in the development of hypertension rather than with elevations of blood pressure per se. Sensitivity to laboratory and naturalistic daily aches and pains was assessed in young normotensive women and men with or without a parental history of hypertension and varying degrees of resting blood pressure. In women, risk for hypertension, as defined by a parental history of hypertension, relatively elevated systolic blood pressure, …  Read more

Beef tendons were sectioned into 60 mum-thick slices (1cm 2) and deposited onto glass cover slips. These meat slices were flooded with a cell suspension of either Pseudomonas fluorescens, Enterobacter agglomerans, or Moraxella osloensis in distilled water and adhesion allowed to occur. The adhesion experiments were also conducted on agar-covered slides to evaluate the effect of the nature of the substratum on adhesion. The non-adherent organisms found on either surface tested (meat or agar) were removed by flushing liquid over the slide. The slides were then incubated in a moist atmosphere at 30°C. Once the presence of microcolonies had been …  Read more

This dissertation addresses the impact of integrated services on future third generation wireless DS-CDMA networks. The first part of the research characterizes the multiple-access interference (MAI) in an integrated DS-CDMA system. The system model is designed to accommodate bursty packed-based data services (e.g., packet or multimedia data) in addition to stream-based services (e.g., voice or facsimile) on a shared spectrum basis. Consequently, this study incorporates features associated with both packet- and stream-based services in order to provide a complete interference characterization. The results of a detailed and precise simulation study are presented in which the influence of traffic burstiness, voice …  Read more

Canadian tuberculosis surveillance includes chest X-ray screening of permanent resident applicants. This study was designed to assess such screening from a cost minimization perspective (cost per case of active TB detected and treated) and a cost effectiveness perspective (incremental cost per case prevented). The two strategies compared were no screening program (passive detection of active pulmonary TB) and screening for active and inactive pulmonary TB. The cost per case of active TB via passive detection was estimated to be $7675.87. Between 1 June 1996 and 1 June 1997, 12898 applicants underwent screening chest X-rays at the Montreal Chest Institute, among …  Read more

The Tabbernor Fault zone (TFZ) in Saskatchewan is a >1500km geophysical, topographic and geological lineament that trends approximately northward along the province's eastern boundary. Detailed field mapping and petrographic analyses, coupled with remote sensing and geophysical evidence have shown that the TFZ is a fundamental structure within the Trans-Hudson Orogen (THO), separating and offsetting several lithotectonic domains. Earliest deformation preserved within the TFZ in the Wollaston Lake area is the transposition of a regional gneissic foliation onto a northeast-trending flattening plane, within north-trending sinistral shear zones. The transposed fabric is characterized by folded and attenuated remnants of the gneissic foliation, …  Read more

In the world of digital interactive entertainment, there has yet to be a well-defined system for the dynamic production of music. It is commonplace for a user to be able to interact with the visual aspect of a presentation or video game, yet the audio and musical aspects have been neglected, often being static musical scores or triggered audio events with no inherent interaction at all. The purpose of this study is to provide the groundwork for an extensible, modular, adaptive musical transformation system that is small and lightweight enough to be embedded within larger applications (such as games or …  Read more

Research can conflict with conservation when invasive techniques are used on protected animal species. We developed a decision framework including the research question, the choice of technique, and the recommended course of action following the evaluation of the risks and benefits. This evaluation includes biological risks and benefits and considerations linked to the perception of resource users. We applied this framework a posteriori to a case study, the use of biopsy sampling on St. Lawrence belugas. We monitored the biological risks and benefits over four field seasons using behavioural and physiological indices and reports on the work in progress. We …  Read more

Yue, S. (Advisor)  Read more

The graph method simultaneously uses the theory of quaternion algebras, elliptic curves and modular forms in order to determine all supersingular points in a given characteristic and hence to obtain a basis of S2(N). The goal of this thesis is to expose the principles of the graph method: it is therefore divided into two main parts: First, we introduce the essentials of the arithmetic of quaternions. This part is made to fit two needs: on one hand, a good introduction or novices; on the other hand, a fast and quick reference for those who are already familiar with the subject. …  Read more

This research details two experiments that together establish the legitimacy of a compartmental model which describes the cerebral uptake and metabolism of radiolabelled L-dopa in vivo. First, tissue radioactivities calculated with the model were compared with corresponding radioactivities measured previously by chromatographic fractionation of 18F-labelled metabolites in striatal tissue extracts from rats given intravenous injections of L-6-[ 18F]fluorodopa. Second, kinetic constants estimated by model fitting to measured radioactivities from combined metabolite pools in a time-series of static autoradiograms from right cerebral hemispheres of rats administered [3H]dopa, were compared to corresponding previously published estimates based on analyses of measured radioactivities from …  Read more

The Mac-T cell system was used to investigate the role of the prolactin (PRL) receptor in cell proliferation and the regulation of milk protein synthesis. This study was designed to investigate whether overexpressing the PRLR in the Mac-T cell line resulted in a change in its growth rate and an enhancement of its ability to produce milk proteins. To accomplish these goals, Mac-T cells were stably transfected with the rabbit prolactin receptor gene. Fifteen clones and a pool of transfectants were obtained. Of these, one clone and the pool were positive for the PRL receptor expression. The clone (S15) and …  Read more

Ectopic gene targeting is an alternative outcome of the gene targeting process in which the targeting vector acquires sequences from the genomic target but proceeds to integrate elsewhere in the genome. To explore this mechanism of recombination an assay was developed, designated as Recombination Access Mapping (RAM), that uses ectopic gene targeting coupled with two color FISH analysis. Using RAM, the integration sites of the gene targeting vector with respect to the target locus were determined for ectopic gene targeting in a murine fibroblast cell line (LTA). The distribution of integration sites was found to be bimodal during ectopic gene …  Read more

A Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) approach was developed to enhance course material for an undergraduate Hydrology and Water Management course, through the use of multimedia courseware. The courseware can be installed under 32bit versions of Windows' operating systems. CD-ROM's were used as the courseware distribution media. A LAN version, which uses NetBEUI protocol to access Windows' workgroups, has also been activated. Course material was first digitized and then placed in a Windows' Graphic User Interface (GUI) using Microsoft Visual Basic versions 4--5. Multimedia files, including images, sound, and movies were then added to enhance visualization. Students can navigate through the …  Read more

Spatial vision, refers to how the visual system encodes the relationships between simple features in the external world for extraction of meaningful information as to object form and location in space. Amblyopia (from the Greek, meaning "blunt vision") is a developmental monocular deficit arising in an estimated 5% of children and is the most common cause of unilateral blindness in the adult population. The condition is primarily associated with a strabismus (misalignment of an eye) or anisometropia (unequal refractive error in the two eyes) or both (mixed amblyopia) being present at or shortly after birth. The strabismic amblyopic deficit includes …  Read more

The prevalence of asthma and the role of occupational exposures was investigated in a cross-sectional study of 498 Montreal adults aged 20 to 44 years. Prevalences of asthma standardised for age and gender, using four definitions were: current wheeze: 23 8%, asthma symptoms and/or medicine: 12.9%, airway hyper-responsiveness: 15.1%, airway hyper-responsiveness and current wheeze: 7.0%. Imputation to adjust for non-response to airway challenge gave similar results. 56.9% of subjects reported occupational exposure ever to sensitisers and 10.8% to irritants. Current wheeze was associated with exposure to irritants (OR: 2.12 (1.03, 4.34)), and airway hyper-responsiveness with exposure to sensitisers (OR: 2.20 …  Read more

This thesis concerns the solution of variational inequalities (VIs) with analytic center cutting plane methods (ACCPMs). A convex feasibility problem reformulation of the variational inequality is used; this reformulation applies to VIs defined with pseudo-monotone, single-valued mappings or with maximal monotone, multi-valued mappings. Two cutting plane methods are presented: the first is based on linear cuts while the second uses quadratic cuts. The first method, ACCPM-VI (linear cuts), requires mapping evaluations but no Jacobian evaluations; in fact, no differentiability assumption is needed. The cuts are placed at approximate analytic centers that are tracked with infeasible primal-dual Newton steps. Linear equality …  Read more

The differential diagnosis of a disease is often based on the information obtained from multiple diagnostic tests or multiple applications of the same test. The usual assumption in such situations is that the test results are statistically independent within each subject conditional on knowing the true disease status. This assumption greatly simplifies the statistical analysis of such data. In practice, however this assumption may be violated, as for example when there is a certain subject-related characteristic that may increase or decrease the probability of detection in two or more tests. The classical or frequentist solutions that account for the correlation …  Read more

This descriptive case study was an investigation of the transition to university, with a focus on academic experiences in the first semester of the 1992--93 academic year at a Canadian research university. To guide the study, a conceptual framework of the transition to university was created by combining elements of relevant theoretical models in the counseling and higher education literature. A purposive sample of eight first year students was selected, equally distributed in terms of gender, entry status (high school vs. college), and actual or contemplated program of study (English vs. Physics). Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews …  Read more

This descriptive case study examined how highly experienced raters do writing assessment, with a focus on how raters defined the task under two conditions: (1) as external raters and (2) as 'teacher as rater'. Three raters followed a think-aloud procedure as they evaluated student writing. The semantic structure of the think-aloud protocols was analyzed via the Task Independent Coding method. This analysis yielded a detailed representation of the objects and operations used by raters. The sequence which raters followed as they used these objects and operations was represented schematically by problem behavior graphs for each scoring decision made (N = …  Read more

Since 1944, the International Civil Aviation Organization (I.C.A.O.) has the mandate to create and to adopt safety standards for the benefit of all Member States and for the safe operation of the air navigation. It is essential, for the air transport overall success, that each country respects those standards and strongly implement them. However, some Member States do not indicate their differences to those standards. This unstable situation has pushed certain states to adopt unilateral action against those countries that do not respect international standards. Indeed, they will not emit an operation permit to any country that does not comply …  Read more

Since as long as one can remember, child protection and juvenile delinquency have been included in the same field. And today's centers for readaptation do indeed accommodate, as did the institutions for minors of the 19th century, both the problem children in need of protection and the juvenile offenders. Such institutions always had the same mandate: to lock up recalcitrant youth in order to better discipline them. Now, the evolution of the legal system has been such that the rights of young offenders are much better protected, at least formally, then those of the minors in need of protection.  Read more

Young developing fruits of nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.) accumulate large deposits of non-fucosylated "storage" XG in periplasmic spaces of cotyledon cells. The only XG that is clearly fucosylated in these fruits Is the structural fraction (approx. 1% total) integrated into growing primary walk. Storage XG can be fucosylated by a nasturtium transferase in vitro, but this does not happen in vivo, even as a transitory signal required for secretion which would subsequently be cleaved to produce mature non-fucosylated storage XG in the periplasmic space. The two fucosylated subunits that are formed in vitro are identical to those found in structural …  Read more

Men don't cry (creation). In a neighborhood of a large North American city, a loaf of rye bread brings back adolescent memories to a middle-aged man. Bill remembers his College friends, Nick, Jack and Alec. They will all pass through the same Diner, the same evening, 20 years later without recognizing each other. Those of them who will cross paths will die that same night. It's a story about chance. It's a free cinematographic adaptation of four short stories from three different authors: The Rye Bread by Ray Bradbury, Continuite des parcs and N'accusez personne by Julio Cortazar as well …  Read more

Wykes, Linda J. (Advisor)  Read more

Previous studies have demonstrated that receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) use common intracellular signal transduction pathways. This is remarkable due to the divergent cellular responses elicited from different RTKs. The insulin receptor (IR) is involved in blood glucose homeostasis whereas the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been linked to liver regeneration. We therefore used rat liver, an organ enriched in both EGF and insulin receptors, to study the specificity of signal transduction in vivo. Upon EGF administration, the EGFR at the plasma membrane (PM) was tyrosine phosphorylated on the major in vivo activation site, Y 1173, and recruited the adaptor …  Read more

Quadriceps, muscle endurance, fatigue and recovery were evaluated in elite and novice rowers in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the development and recovery from fatigue following several bouts of exercise. Baseline evaluations recorded the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) using a force transducer, muscle activation via the Interpolated Twitch Technique (ITT) and the compound muscle action potential (m-wave) from the electromyographic (EMG) signal. Contractile properties of the twitch, which included the peak tension (Pt), time to peak tension (TPT) and half-relaxation time (RT 1/2), were also recorded. The rowers then completed a 2500 meter simulated rowing race and the muscle …  Read more

The steeply dipping vein orebody of Bousquet 2 mine is extracted by sublevel open stope method. The presence of structural discontinuities, high induced stress distribution, and narrow stope widths are major factors which can seriously affect ore dilution. Therefore, strict ore dilution control is necessary in order to keep the mine competitive. The thesis describes the selective mining method adapted to this type of orebody, and subsequent measures taken to minimize ore dilution. For this study, the locations of stress relaxation are taken as failures zones. Therefore, these zones are more important since they are subjected to very low stresses …  Read more