McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 2002

A series of three reinforced concrete columns was tested under simulated seismic loading to study the effect of the shear span-to-depth ratio on the shear transfer mechanisms. The full size columns were identical in cross section and steel detailing, the only difference being the shear span-to-depth ratio, with ratios of 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0. The specimens were designed and detailed to avoid flexural failure, and were loaded in reversed cyclic shear and moment until failure. This research project studies the two shear transfer mechanisms (compression field and direct strut action) observed in the reinforced concrete members. The capacity and behaviour …  Read more

This study investigated the music-reading errors of 6--13-year-old piano students (n = 35) as they read three unfamiliar musical pieces. The musical pieces were similar in terms of tonality, and rhythmic and melodic complexity, but differed in terms of simultaneity of left- and right hand and complexity of left-hand arrangement. Pitch errors were examined in terms of frequency, placement, and type. Of all pitches played, 23% were incorrect pitches. However, 30% of the incorrect pitches were followed by an immediate correction (self-correction). There were significantly more errors made in the left-hand parts than in right-hand parts of all three pieces. …  Read more

A tremendous disparity exists between the few countries with expansive access to information and communications technologies, and the many others still lacking the basic infrastructure and unable to participate in the information age. While the current trade regime under the Basic Telecommunications Agreement, which forms part of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, offers many opportunities for developing countries, its potential for bridging the digital divide through increased flows of FDI is likely to benefit only those countries with large, lucrative markets. Global market failures would result in deepening the digital divide facing the poorest of the developing countries. …  Read more

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) with learning-disabled (LD) students. Twenty-four students (12 dyads) classified as LD and attending a school for the learning-disabled participated in the study. Students engaged in either a computer-based environment involving BioWorld, a hospital simulation designed to teach biology students problem-solving skills, or a paper-and-pencil version based on the computer program. A hybrid model of learning was adopted whereby students were provided with direct instruction on the digestive system prior to participating in a problem-solving activity. Students worked in dyads and solved three problems involving the …  Read more

Buckley, R. Philip (Supervisor)  Read more

Urinary plasminogen activator (uPA), a member of the serine protease family, is implicated in the progression of various cancers including breast cancer due to its ability to provoke malignant cell invasion. uPA production is reported to be much higher in late stage, estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer patients than those with benign hyperplasia. Since all existing evidence points to a role for uPA in breast cancer progression, exploring the mechanisms regulating its gene expression will be of immense value. Two human breast cancer cell lines were selected for this study. MDA-MB-231 represents late stage breast cancer. This cell line …  Read more

E1B-55K is a multifunctional protein that plays many essential roles during adenoviral infection. During early stages of infection E1B-55K blocks E1A-induced apoptosis by inactivating the p53 tumour suppressor protein. E1B-55K binds to p53 and prevents the activation of p53 responsive genes. However, E1B-55K binding is not sufficient for inhibition of p53 transactivation suggesting that E1B-55K actively represses transcription. Studies using a series of E1B-55K deletion mutants identified a repression domain located at the carboxy terminus between amino acids 420 and 443. A second repression domain may also be present toward the amino terminus of the protein. Furthermore, E1B-55K did not …  Read more

This thesis investigates the binding of overt and null subject pronouns in second language (L2) acquisition and first language (L1) attrition of Turkish. The aim is to provide a comparative investigation of language transfer effects in the ultimate state of the L2 and L1 grammar. More specifically, it examines transfer effects from English L1 and English L2 into the grammars of Turkish L2 and Turkish L1, respectively. In this thesis, I propose that the Subset Condition (Berwick, 1985; Manzini & Wexler, 1987) can account for transfer phenomena observed in both L2 acquisition and L1 attrition. I argue that the subset …  Read more

The secretory pathway of dog pancreas, liver parenchyma, cultured CHO cells and yeast has been analyzed with reagents focusing on the p24 family of membrane proteins. The results show that at least one of the p24s is ribosome associated in a nascent chain dependent manner. The cell free reconstitution of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) cargo exit sites has demonstrated that the p24s are involved in the generation of both the cargo exit sites and vesicular tubular clusters (VTCs) in a COPI dependent manner. Work done in situ and in isolated subcellular fractions has indicated that the p24-enriched cis Golgi compartment …  Read more

Franco, Eduardo (Supervisor)  Read more

A robust method has been developed for the test and characterization of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits. The method relies on a compact, robust, and easily synthesized integrated test core capable of emulating the function of external automatic test equipment. The core consists of a 2 x N memory whose contents are periodically circulated, a coarse analog filter, and a voltage comparator. One half of the circular memory is used to generate analog signals without the need for multi-bit digital-to-analog converters. The second half is used to generate extremely accurate DC levels, the latter being programmed using a clever software …  Read more

This thesis is an attempt to examine one of the most important on-going debates in contemporary Islamists' discourses, namely, the status and rights of religious minorities in an Islamic state. The call by Islamists for the establishment of such a state governed by the Shari'ah has given rise to criticism that Islamization would entail the revival of the discriminatory rulings of traditional Islamic law with respect to non-Muslim citizens and the negation of the modern principle of the right to equality for all citizens irrespective of religious belief. To provide a background to the problem, this study presents a brief …  Read more

This study evaluated the mechanical durability of ice hockey helmets for multiple impacts at defined energy levels. A monorail drop testing apparatus was used to conduct controlled impact tests according to the CSA standard (CAN/CSA-Z262.1-M90). Five ice hockey helmet models were tested, for a total sample of 45 helmets. All helmets were impacted up to 50 times at each of in four different locations (i.e. front, right side, back, and crown), at one of 40, 50 or 60 J of kinetic energies. In general, by increasing the impact energy, the impact acceleration attenuation properties of the helmets was decreased significantly …  Read more

This thesis analyses the legality of parallel import of trade-marked goods from a comparative standpoint as the author will examine the legal, judicial and administrative responses to it in three jurisdictions: United States, Canada and the European Union. This issue lies at the core of the inherent tension between the promotion of free trade and the traditional territorial allocation of intellectual property rights. Parallel import refers to the unauthorized sale of genuine branded products in a given jurisdiction through market channels without the consent of the trade-mark owner in that jurisdiction. The exhaustion of rights doctrine is one of the …  Read more

Onchocerca volvulus, a filarial nematode, is the causative agent of onchocerciasis. O. volvulus is a human parasite with no animal model host and is endemic in the tropics. O. volvulus material is scarce and must be conserved as part of the Onchocerciasis Control Program. A genomic library was constructed to provide a substantial source of renewable genetic material, in place of original parasite DNA. Currently there is only one glutamate-gated chloride channel that has been sequenced from O. volvulus, but this has not yet been characterized. This GluClx partial cDNA sequence isolated by Cully et al., 1997, may be found …  Read more

My thesis focuses on modern Palestine and the role of nationalism and fundamentalism in the construction of Palestinian national identity. Ḥamas provides a case study of Islamic fundamentalism in Palestine. The movement developed during the late 1980's as a reaction to the failures of the secular project. Ḥamas is a reflection of a region-wide phenomenon. It is not solely a reaction to modernity. Rather, Ḥamas is the result of specific condition that led to the politicization of Islam after the Intifaḍa . Today the nationalist PLO and Ḥamas struggle to define Palestinian identity and to shape the emerging Palestinian state. …  Read more

The entorhinal cortex occupies an important anatomical position in the temporal lobe as the interface between the hippocampus and the neocortex. Its superficial cell layers funnel the cortical input into the hippocampus while the deep layer V is the major target of hippocampal output, which it then directs back to the cortex. This connectivity alone makes the entorhinal cortex a crucial element in what is known as the neocortical-hippocampal-neocortical circuit, a system involved in the long-term storage of "declarative" memories. However, the detailed analysis of the morphological and electrophysiological characteristics of cells in entorhinal cortex layer V had not been …  Read more

Cardiac Purkinje fibers (PFs) play a very important role in cardiac electrophysiology. They are crucial for assuring appropriate timing and sequence of ventricle contraction and play an important role in cardiac arrhythmogenesis, largely via abnormalities in repolarization. Little work has been done to define the molecular electrophysiology of cardiac Purkinje cells (PCs). The primary hypothesis of this thesis was that PCs have unique molecular determinants of repolarization. The specific objectives were to characterize the repolarizing currents in isolated canine PCs, to clarify the molecular basis for these currents and to study role of PC current remodeling in a cardiac disease …  Read more

This Master's Thesis is a comparative study of the regulation of defensive measures in hostile takeovers. It consists of two main parts: In the first, the subject is approached from a theoretical point of view. The relevant factors for the regulation of defensive measures are outlined and analysed, followed by a discussion of the different ways of drafting such rules. This part concludes with a proposition concerning the most favourable form and content of a regulation. The second part describes hostile takeover regulation in the US, the UK, Canada, the EU and Germany, showing the diversity in that field of …  Read more

Ribonucleic acids (RNA) are polymers of ribonucleotides linked together by 3',5'-phosphodiester linkages and play a prominent role in protein biosynthesis. Much less common are ribonucleic acids based on 2',5'-phosphodiester linkages (2',5'-RNA). In this study, the synthesis, physical and biological properties of several 2' ,5'-linked oligoribonucleotides are described. One aspect of this thesis deals with the synthesis and structural studies of 2',5'-dodecaribonucleotides. Their base sequence was designed to promote intramolecular folding by base pairing leading to the formation of "hairpin loops". The hairpins consist of a tetranucleotide loop and a 4 base-pair duplex (stem). The thermodynamic stability and conformation of these …  Read more

A new approach for the synthesis of fullerenes (C60, C 70) using a 100kW D.C non-transferred thermal plasma torch is based on the dissociation of tetrachloroethylene ( C₂Cl₄). Experimental tests performed in a spherical reactor (ID = 30cm) showed a high production rate of up to 9 g/h of fullerenes and indicated a good scale-up potential. CFD modeling demonstrated an increase of the C60 yield with the residence time of the precursor species in the 2200--2600 K temperature window for fullerene formation, but strong limitations from the reactor geometry. A new cylindrical reactor was designed (ID = 40 cm) with …  Read more

The current study empirically examined the relations between several risk and protective variables associated with adolescent gambling. More specifically, the relations among self-reported familial, emotional, social, and behavioral variables and youth gambling problems were investigated. The current study also sought to identify risk factors that may be related to youth problem gambling. Participants consisted of 2,336 students in grades 7 to 13 (ages 12 to 19) recruited from various elementary and high schools in the Province of Ontario. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding gambling activities (GAQ), gambling severity (DSM-IV-MR-J), perceived social support (PSS Friend and Family), drug and alcohol dependence …  Read more

Dhindsa, R. (Supervisor)  Read more

This investigation reports on the linguistic and communicative abilities of a deaf child whose initial exposure to conventional linguistic input occurred at the age of 10. At the time of data collection, the participant had been exposed to American Sign Language (ASL) for three years. Information concerning the participant's background, language and communication abilities was collected through caregiver interviews. Language samples were gathered through storybook and video retelling tasks and spontaneous conversations. Samples were videotaped, and later transcribed by a native deaf signer of ASL. Analyses of the participant's lexical, morphological, syntactic, and pragmatic skills were performed. Results showed deficits …  Read more

This study investigates the role of prolactin (PRL) as an autocrine/paracrine survival and/or growth factor in the human breast cancer cell line T47D and the signaling pathways that mediate this function. Utilizing an oligonucleotide antisense to human PRL (hPRL) mRNA to inhibit endogenous PRL production in T47D cells, we found that PRL contributes to the viability of the T47D cells. Furthermore, exogenous PRL stimulation mediates the activation of the protein kinase B/Akt (PKB/Akt) in the mammary epithelial cell lines HC11 and MCF-10, as well as T47D cells. PRL stimulation led to the phosphorylation of the pro-apoptotic protein Bad, a member …  Read more

This thesis expands upon the discussions of Martha Nussbaum (1991) regarding scientific and Aristotelian conceptions of rationality and how each treats issues of moral reasoning and moral education. It posits that this scientific rationality provides an inherently flawed and limiting conception of the practical reasoner, and that its prevalence within the field of education, as well as in educational research has had damaging effects upon students and educators alike. Thus, it advocates the adoption of an Aristotelian view of reason, one which characterizes the person of practical reason as one who possesses a rich awareness of detail, emotion, context and …  Read more

Evaluation of Heidegger's ethical thinking or "originary ethics" is necessary due to recent ethical questions resulting from Heidegger's biography. According to John D. Caputo, Heidegger does not care for the "other". This thesis analyzes Caputo's basis for those claims along with his rejection of Heidegger's notion that our relation to poetizing is needful for an ethics in a scientific, technological age. Heidegger's ethics of non-objectification offers hope with regard not only to the domination and oppression of humans but also for non-humans as well. Heidegger's understanding of 'technique qua metaphysics' is important for addressing the political claims of Caputo.  Read more

In the era of information technology, intellectual property assets are gaining important value and are becoming increasingly attractive in the sphere of commercial transactions. The case of software as collateral in the context of a financing transaction brings to the surface the various issues which a lender must face when engaging in an intellectual property-based secured transaction. In the execution of such a transaction, the North-American intellectual property and secured financing legal regimes, currently in place, fail to procure the clear, certain and predictable results desired by lenders. Whether at the initial stage of creation of a security interest on …  Read more

The process of islet isolation destroys extracellular matrix and eliminates potentially important inter-cellular relationships. We have previously shown that isolated islets embedded in a type I collagen gel, in the presence of a defined medium, undergo a phenotypic switch to duct-like epithelial structures through a process known as transdifferentiation. The aim of this study was to characterize the specific effectors implicated in islet cell transdifferentiation in order to better understand the factors that confer morphogenetic stability on cells in the isolated islets. We demonstrated cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for TGF-beta isoforms over 8 days post isolation using canine islets. Islet-to-duct epithelial transdifferentiation …  Read more

Elbourne, E. (Supervisor)  Read more

The adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has increased the policy importance of litigation, and, accordingly, of those government lawyers who handle such litigation. In particular, policies and laws may stand or fall based on whether the government appeals its losses in the lower courts to the Supreme Court of Canada. This dissertation seeks to determine whether the federal government's appeal decisions are based on a rational weighing of multiple factors related to costs, case importance, and the prospect of securing access to, and victory in, the Supreme Court. This first requires ascertaining the locus of litigating authority …  Read more

This thesis presents a systematic review regarding the way technology supports adult learning in communities of practice. It presents the systematic review procedure that was developed, based on NBS CRD (2001) protocol, from publication sources relevant to the topic. It includes the identification of research from an initial question that is: how does technology support adult learning in communities of practice. In addition, it presents a search strategy, a study quality assessment, a data extraction strategy and a synthesis of findings. Because most of the pertinent research is qualitative, a typology of qualitative research and a critical appraisal checklist for …  Read more

Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) have many roles, including in growth, differentiation, and development. More recently several RTKs have also been shown to have a role in synaptic plasticity. I report here the cloning and characterization of three novel RTKs from the marine mollusk Aplysia Californica. The first is a member of the Ror family. It is a 155 kD protein expressed in the nervous system of juvenile and adult animals, is activated in response to treatment with tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors, and co-localizes in immunocytochemistry with a P-type calcium channel. It may have a role in organizing functional subdomains in the …  Read more

Membrane-associated guanylate kinases (MAGUKs) are a family of molecular scaffolds that organize and cluster protein complexes at subcellular specializations. CASK, a multimodular MAGUK containing CamK, PDZ, SH3 and GK domains, is involved in a variety of molecular events including EGF receptor localization and signalling, KIF-17 dependent NMDA receptor containing vesicle transport, presynaptic vesicle exocytosis and basolateral localization of certain transmembrane proteins. CASK also translocates to the nucleus upon interaction with the Tbr-1 transcription factor where it functions as a transcription regulator. We used the CASK PDZ domain in a yeast two-hybrid screen to identify novel members involved in CASK function. …  Read more

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis is the most common and most devastating ocular opportunistic infection among patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The lifetime cumulative incidence of this infection in patients with AIDS ranges from 25% to 40%. With the advent of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) in 1996, the incidence of CMV retinitis is declining in industrialized nations. However, at least 20% of patients do not respond to HAART. Furthermore, it is possible that more resistance to HAART may develop in the not too distant future, with an explosive increase in the incidence of CMV retinitis. In developing and mixed-economy …  Read more

The judicial system in what is now the European Union has been subject to only a few structural changes since the Court of Justice assumed jurisdiction over the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. In a more significant development, the Court of Justice has shaped its own role and its relationship with the courts of the Member States. Today, the functioning of the resultant system is put at risk by an increasing case-load and duration of proceedings, but also by the impact of certain developments in the Community legal order and the intended enlargement of the European …  Read more

Pain perception is highly dependant on the conscious state of the individual and the meaning of the pain. Patients who have pain associated with life-threatening diseases such as cancer may have a heightened state of arousal and focus on their pain, which serves to increase the pain experience. Conversely, professional athletes sustain devastating injuries and continue playing with little or no pain. The studies I have conducted for my Ph.D. have focused on how conscious state alters pain perception, as well as the neural circuitry underlying such modulation. In separate studies, PET and fMRI were used to examine pain perception. …  Read more

The manual design of microarchitecture is labour-intensive and unlikely to generate good counterintuitive solutions. A designer, guided solely by intuition, is forced to manipulate many interdependent parameters by hand, introducing simplifying assumptions that artificially limit the potential of the architecture. The sheer number of possible configurations precludes an exhaustive exploration of the entire search space. Evolutionary computation is a domain-independent, highly scalable technique capable of producing innovative designs with reasonable computational cost. This study presents a software framework for designing microarchitecture. As a case study, a genetic algorithm is used to automatically synthesize two-level indirect branch predictors. The evolved designs …  Read more

"The Journey Within" deals with how the receiver (reader/viewer) engages with the novel and the film. The thesis primarily focuses on Faulkner's novel, incorporating Persona largely as a means by which to illustrate the more carefully concealed reader-engagement strategies in Absalom, Absalom! Starting with a review of Faulkner criticism that opens itself up to this inquiry, the thesis leads into a detail study of the engagement strategies used to foster identification, alignment, sympathy, and empathy among receivers. Employing Umberto Eco's criticism involving "Model Readers" who "actualize" texts, as well as other reader and viewer response theory, I demonstrate that certain …  Read more

In recent years there has been considerable interest and research examining psychological distress resulting from athletic injuries, as well as coping strategies for an enhanced recovery. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological effects of sport related concussions and to determine if participation in support groups can reduce these psychological side effects. Participants included concussed male and female varsity or comparable elite level athletes who were placed in either a control or an experimental group. All subjects completed the Profile of Mood States and the Post Concussion Rating Scale. Participants in the experimental group received three support …  Read more

Between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the 17th century, western Europe is the stage for one of history's demonological crisis. Many critics associated this witch hunt with an episode of collective delirium and perhaps also irrationality on the rise. Nevertheless, witchcraft is first and foremost an object of knowledge---demonology---, which many writers, jurists and theologians attempted to construct, define and constantly re-evaluate. Demonology was progressively elaborated in the midst of a culture where multiples beliefs and ideologies were interpreted to be the language, or the Christian testimony of a universe troubled by the signs of …  Read more

A model was developed in growing piglets to study the use of urinary total sulfur excretion as an indicator of sulfur amino acid (SAA) catabolism and the nitrogen (N)/sulfur (S) balance ratio as an indicator of non-protein SAA storage. The recovery of administrated methionine as urinary total S over 48 hours was 106% in well-nourished piglets, but only 69% in protein malnourished piglets. The N/S balance ratio of protein malnourished piglets was lower than that of well-nourished piglets, and this ratio further decreased after methionine administration. We conclude that in a protein malnourished state, relatively more S than N is …  Read more

This study starts with the observation that Canadians un-self-consciously tend to understate, or fail to recognize, the existence and extent of anti-Black racism in Canada. Canadians also claim that racism is much worse in the United States. Using extensive excerpts from in-depth interviews with Black and White educators in the Quebec English-language school system, the study examines ideological common sense arguments that legitimize, or else, argue away Canadian anti-Black racism. The study also documents the participants' accounts of racism and its effects. The study exposes arguments used to deny and justify racism, and discusses the disparate understandings of race-related concepts …  Read more

This thesis presents a more accurate and efficient method for the study of finite span wings in steady and unsteady supersonic flows with more computing efficiency. For steady flows, the boundary conditions are expressed in terms of the source distributions over wing surfaces. Specific theoretical solutions are derived for the calculations of pressure coefficient distribution and the lift, pitching moment, and rolling moment coefficients. The present solutions have been validated for delta and trapezoidal wings by comparison with high order conical flow results based on the theory developed by Carafoli, Mateescu, and Nastase. An excellent agreement was found between these …  Read more

Recently, Huang and Carrington introduced a preconditioned inexact spectral transform (PIST) method for calculating energy levels and wave functions in quantum mechanics. Mathematically, the PIST method is a new iterative technique for solving eigenvalue problems. It gives both eigenvalues and eigenfunctions within a prescribed eigenvalue spectrum. The method requires storing only a small number of vectors but allows one to calculate eigenvalues and wavefunctions with far fewer matrix-vector products than the conventional Lanczos method used for solving eigenvalue problems. We present here a numerical solution of the scalar Helmholtz wave equation using the PIST technique in solving the associated eigenvalue …  Read more

In this thesis I discuss personal identity (the self) as it relates to authoritative contexts (the sublime). I show how these contexts confer meaning on personal and cultural narratives, which in turn confer meaning on facts and knowledge claims. I outline three conceptions of the self and sublime (Richard Rorty's, Charles Taylor's and Robert Kegan's), and address the implications of these for education. In conclusion I isolate a common product of all three perspectives---unconditional love---and recommend a 'will to positive description' as a necessary and desirable pedagogical goal.  Read more

Six reinforced concrete specimens, modeling the wall of a nuclear reactor containment structure, were tested under cyclic thermal effects and cyclic applied loading. To study the behaviour of the reactor wall, three of the specimens were tested under axial tension, while the other three were tested in flexure. The specimens were subjected to cyclic loads, strains, and a combination of loads and strains, equivalent to 25 and 50 years in the life of the actual structure. The stiffness of the specimen and the cracks on the specimen were monitored. The test results confirmed that the largest increases in crack widths …  Read more

The formation of heterocyclic amines (HAs) have been proven to be carcinogenic and mutagenic and these compounds have been found in cooked food such as meat, poultry, and fish. There are strong relationships between potential cancer development and HAs through intake of the cooked food. The yield of HAs along with the influence of fat content and soy protein on the formation of HAs were determined during heating (as in cooking) at different temperatures using the kinetic modeling approach. The formation of HAs is dependent on temperature, time, fat content, and soy protein. The increase of fat content in samples …  Read more

Dietary fatty acid (FA) composition and energy restriction (ER) independently affect serum leptin levels; however it is not known whether this correlates with changes in obese (ob) gene expression. Herein, we assessed whether dietary FA composition and ER influence white adipose tissue (WAT) ob mRNA by Northern analysis. Animals consumed diets containing tallow (BT), safflower oil (SO) or fish oil (FO) ad libitum or at 60% ad libitum intakes. Serum leptin values were not different between levels of energy intake. ER decreased weight gain and WAT weights, which positively correlated with serum leptin values. WAT ob mRNA levels were in …  Read more

The thesis explores the historical background, activities and organization of the Tijaniyya ṣufi order in the Tamale District of Ghana. After a survey of the history of Islam's penetration of sub-Saharan Africa, and the role of ṣufi orders in this process generally, the thesis looks at the founder of the Tijaniyya, Aḥmad al-Tijani (d. 1815 A.D.), his beliefs and the spread of these beliefs in the Dagbon area and, ultimately, the Tamale District. This is followed by an overview of the order's salient doctrines, and especially those teachings that are more or less unique to the Tamale region and that …  Read more