McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 2004

This study focused on the structural genomics of granulin/epithelin modules (GEMs). Expression, purification and NMR studies of 14 out of all known 19 zebrafish GEMs allowed an assessment of the degree of structural diversity in their C-terminal subdomains. Very interestingly, one well-folded zebrafish GEM was obtained, and its three-dimensional structure was determined with high accuracy using NOE, H-bond, dihedral angle and residue dipolar coupling constraints. Solution structure determination and 15N NMR relaxation measurements indicate that one unique proline residue of the zebrafish GEM may confer the well-structured and stable folding property of the stack of all four beta-hairpins in contrast …  Read more

The effects of high sodium chloride (NaCl) levels on Na and nutrient retention of three soil substrates and on littleleaf linden growth in different soil substrates were studied in the laboratory and the greenhouse, within the framework of a substrate selection program for trees planted in downtown Montreal. In addition, the effects of the structural soil (SS) compaction were studied in the first greenhouse experiment. The first greenhouse experiment was established in a factorial arrangement of four soils x four salt levels in a completely randomized design with five replicates. The four soil types were (1) L with a bulk …  Read more

The speed of the Finite Element Method (FEM) is an obstacle to the fast calculation of magnetic fields. A fast Local Refinement Method (LRM) using the first-order FEM is presented for quickly tracking the magnetic field changes while electromagnetic models have small changes made to their shape. This method resolves the potentials in the local mesh or submesh extracted from the whole mesh, with a boundary condition that is calculated by the initial solution based on the whole mesh. Instead of being re-meshed in the local area, the extracted submesh is coarsened and reshaped by the LRM to speed up …  Read more

The promulgation of the TRIPS Agreement marks a new direction for international copyright: copyright protection has been put under the auspices of the world trading system. During the arduous negotiations, developing countries played a minor role due to the unilateral trade threats exerted by the United States. As a result, the final text of the TRIPs mainly mirrors the domestic copyright legislations of those developed countries. The question of what impact the TRIPs will have on developing Member States has triggered hot debates. While acknowledging that a short-term negative impact is likely, the long-term effects of a strengthened copyright regime …  Read more

This study involves the measurement of the neutron equivalent dose ( NED) and the induced activity produced from medical linear accelerators. For the NED, various parameters such as the profile, field effects and energy responses were studied. The NED in a Solid Water(TM) phantom was measured and a new quantity, the neutron equivalent dose tissue-air ratio (NTAR), was defined and determined. Neutron production for electron beams was also measured. For the induced activity, comparisons were carried out between different linacs, fields and dose rates. The half life and activation saturation were also studied. A mathematical model of induced activity was …  Read more

The management of software development processes is a continual challenge facing software development organizations. Previous studies used "flexible models" and empirical methods to optimize software development processes. In this thesis, the expected payoff is used to quantitatively evaluate processes. Payoff can be defined as the value of a team member's action, and the expected payoff combines the value of the payoff of a team member's action and the probability of taking that action. The mathematic models of a waterfall process and two flexible processes are evaluated in terms of total maximum expected payoff. The results show under which conditions which …  Read more

This study examined a group of English-speaking individuals temporarily residing in the province of Quebec who were studying French. I expected to find that language students who take an active role seeking opportunities to practice French outside of the classroom would demonstrate acquisition of a native speaker (NS) language variant more than those students who take a passive role in seeking out informal French interactions or those who actively sought instead interaction in English. However, no significant correlation between active or passive reactions to the learning environment and the production of the language variant was established. Students who actively sought …  Read more

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a widespread, maternally inherited trait that results in an inability of plants to produce functional pollen. The Ogura CMS system originated in radish, but has since been transferred to, and confers male sterility on, plants in the related genus Brassica . A gene which restores male fertility is needed for the Ogura CMS system to be exploited commercially for hybrid seed production in oilseed species such as Brassica napus. The restorer gene Rfo is a dominant radish nuclear gene that restores the male fertility to plants with Ogura cytoplasm. This gene has been transferred into …  Read more

Numerous ethical guidelines are referred to when medical research is conducted on human participants. These guidelines include the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki, and the International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. From a Western viewpoint, these guidelines may seem like well-reasoned, universally applicable codes for conducting medical research on human subjects. Some of the guidelines, however, merely impose Western values on developing countries without giving adequate consideration to their worldviews. I explore the applicability of current codes and guidelines of ethics on medical research with human subjects to the Zulu of South Africa and the Kikuyu …  Read more

Clathrin-mediated membrane budding mainly occurs at the cell surface, where it drives the formation of endocytic vesicles necessary for the internalization of membrane proteins, and at the trans-Golgi network (TGN), where it mediates the trafficking of cargo proteins from the TGN to the endosomal/lysosomal system. The general objective of my doctoral research was to study adaptor and accessory proteins that play structural and regulatory roles in the formation of clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs). This was achieved principally through the characterization of two protein complexes: a first, which functions at the cell surface and a second, which regulates vesicle formation at the …  Read more

Apolipoprotein C-I (apoC-I) plays an important role in the metabolism of plasma triglyceride levels and cholesterol metabolism. Little is known about the regulation of apoC-I production by human adipocytes. Aim. To investigate the effect of different tissue culture conditions on the synthesis and secretion of apoC-I and apoE in human SW872 liposarcoma cells and to study the effects of apoC-I overexpression in these same cells. Methods. SW872 cells were grown in DMEM/F-12 (3:1, v/v). QPCR was used to quantify mRNA synthesis. ELISAs were used to quantify intracellular and extracellular proteins. Colorimetric reaction kits were used to analyze intracellular cholesterol and …  Read more

In this study, we have demonstrated that inoculation of bean seeds with non-pathogenic binucleate Rhizoctonia (np-BNR) at sowing protected bean seedlings from infection of R. solani. Using quantitative real-time RT-PCR (QRT-PCR), transcript levels of defense genes encoding 1,3-beta-glucanase (GLUC), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), chalcone synthase (CHS) in one-week old bean seedlings was monitored during np-BNR and R. solani interaction. The results revealed that protection effect of np-BNR correspond to a systemic suppression of these three defense genes' expression from significant higher level elicited by R. solani to the level of non-infected plants. This indicates that bio-protection by np-BNR isolates is not …  Read more

The relationship between habitat preferences and rates of dispersal and directional orientation across different vegetations was investigated using captures from an array of drift fences for Pseudacris triseriata , at a breeding pond near Boucherville, Quebec. Growth rates for juveniles were similar across the study area, suggesting that food was not limiting and movement is related to habitat preference. Frog residence time in habitat enclosures, and between fence arrays was significantly longer for frogs in humid prairie vegetation compared to those in shrubby vegetation. The number of frogs caught per metre of fence in humid prairies was also on average …  Read more

This thesis carefully examines the question of the effect of nuclear weapons possession on international relations through a detailed examination of all international crises between nuclear powers, as identified by the International Crisis Behavior Project (ICB). It distinguishes itself from similar studies in four key areas. First, by including the recent dyadic nuclear crises between India and Pakistan, this study significantly expands the number of cases under consideration. Next, the India-Pakistan crises provide an opportunity for a novel comparison to the US-USSR crises of the Cold War. Third, this work is unique among studies of nuclear deterrence in its combined …  Read more

This thesis argues that in North America since the late 1980s, young women's interest in feminism has been expressed through participation in feminist music subcultures. The project provides an overview of the studies of culture, musical subculture, and gender and music making, as well as an historical context of feminism and a discussion of the relationship between second and third wave feminism. The first case study explores Riot Grrrl's roots in the DIY activism of DC hardcore punk, its links to the female-oriented indie music scene of Olympia, Washington, and the subculture's use of alternative media. The second study examines …  Read more

This study examined how medical tutors used a tool from clinical practice known as the patient problem list to support students' clinical reasoning in a natural internal medicine ward setting. A grounded 2 case comparative study was conducted with 2 real patient case discussions by a tutor and 3 pre-clerkship students and a resident and 1 clerkship level student respectively. Codes that emerged by verbal analysis of the data were related to each other in a discourse map. In both cases evidence of cognitive apprenticeship teaching strategies and the patient problem list shaped and were shaped by a spiral model …  Read more

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) results from an accumulation of undifferentiated promyelocyte progenitors. Complete clinical remission of APL can be achieved through therapy with retinoic acid (RA). However, patients treated with RA alone almost invariably develop resistance to RA. We have found that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and RA can synergize to induce differentiation of RA sensitive APL cells in a much shorter period of time than RA alone. In addition, this combination can also overcome the maturation block of RA resistant APL cells and the non-APL leukemia cell line U937 leading to differentiation. Correlating with this, we found synergistic induction …  Read more

Although heritability estimates of schizophrenia are high, studies attempting to identify specific genes for schizophrenia have been only modestly successful. Strategies to improve the power of genetic studies include the creation of homogeneous subtypes of schizophrenia based on symptom presentation, and the identification of behavioural abnormalities that reflect the presence of genes for schizophrenia ("behavioural markers of risk") even in the absence of the full clinical disorder. Oculomotor abnormalities are one of the most well-documented markers of risk. It is not known whether abnormalities in motor control are specific to the oculomotor system or whether they are found as well …  Read more

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the three dimensional kinematic differences between elite and recreational ice hockey players while performing a stationary slap shot. Ten subjects, five elite-level players and five recreational players, each performed five stationary ice hockey slap shots. Data were collected using the UltratrakRTM electromagnetic system (Polhemus Inc., Burlington, VT, USA) at 60 Hz. Kinematics of the torso, arms and hockey stick were examined using a multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results indicated that: (1) the elite subjects shot significantly (p < 0.05) faster due to the translational movement aspect of the stick; (2) …  Read more

Little, D. (Supervisor)  Read more

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). It is characterized by the infiltration of immune cells into the brain, leading to myelin destruction and the demise of oligodendrocytes (OLs), the myelinating cells of the CNS. The mechanisms of tissue destruction are still being elucidated. We have looked at the effects of two putative injury mediators on resident CNS glia. Firstly, we investigated the functional consequences of signaling via death receptors Fas, DR4 and DR5 and their ligands Fas ligand (FasL) and tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing factor (TRAIL) in astrocytes isolated from fetal …  Read more

Une enchère est une procédure bien-connue pour redistribution de biens matériaux entre des vendeurs et des acheteurs. Une extension de l’enchère où plusieurs acheteurs sont en compétition pour un seul itème est l’enchère combinatoire, où plusieurs itèmes sont redistribués simultanément. Ce mémoir a pour but d’adresser le problème de l’allocation de biens dans le contexte d’une enchère combinatoire. Nous considérons les résultats déjà obtenus dans la théorie computationnel des enchères combinatoires. Un problème primordial dans la théorie des enchères est la représentation des enchérisseurs et leurs préférences. Une autre question concerne le coût des communications entre les enchérisseurs et le …  Read more

This thesis presents the integration of a synchronous, update everywhere replication protocol into the relational database system PostgreSQL. This work is based on previous work which integrated replication into PostgreSQL 6.4 using strict 2-phase-locking for concurrency control. In this thesis, we migrated the approach to PostgreSQL 7.2 which uses a multi-version concurrency control mechanism providing the isolation level Snapshot Isolation. This required a complete redesign of the replica control component. With our approach, transactions can be submitted to any replica. This replica executes the transaction locally and multicasts the updates to the other replicas. The combined concurrency and replica control …  Read more

This paper examines the way in which two contemporary Canadian women writers, Anne Carson and Gail Scott, integrate subjective theory into two of their respective texts (Carson's Men In the Off Hours, and Scott's Main Brides). This study rejects the presentation of a single protagonist and instead focuses heavy emphasis upon the presentation of subjective experiments. In this paper the subjects in Men In the Off Hours and Main Brides are examined through the desires they exhibit for the absent other---that which the subject perceives he/she does not have---as central to his/her own conception of him/her self. The paper first …  Read more

The demand for wireless networks has been growing rapidly over the recent past due to improved reliability, higher supported data rates, seamless connectivity between users and the access point, and low deployment costs relative to wireline infrastructure. This increase in demand started with the popular IEEE 802.11b wireless local area network standard. Many recent wireless network standards are now employing multicarrier modulation in their design. Multicarrier modulation reduces the system's susceptibility to the frequency-selective fading channel, due to multipath propagation, by transforming it into a collection of approximately flat subchannels. As a result, this makes it easier to compensate for …  Read more

Distributed systems, systems that interact with real-time devices, responsive GUI interfaces, systems that interact with hundreds of clients simultaneously have to function correctly even in a concurrent environment. Complex concurrent activities and interactions however make the development, i.e. understanding, analyzing, designing and implementing, of such systems extremely difficult. It is important to have a systematic approach to treat the many issues when developing concurrent systems. In this thesis, we describe an approach that addresses concurrency in all phases of object-oriented software development. We show how to identify inherent concurrency at early stages of the development, and we propose a way …  Read more

This thesis addresses several brain MRI segmentation methods including three methods of using normal distributions, similar methods using t-distributions and a new method using MCLUST software packages. The main purpose of this thesis is to try to improve current brain image segmentation methods and reduce the long computing time with satisfactory results. The methodology consists in applying histogram analysis for the initialization of parameters, using Simpson's rule for the approximation of numerical integration and describing methods of skull stripping and neighborhood information encoding. The two most significant contributions are suggestions for speeding up current methods and a newly proposed method …  Read more

Most routers, to our knowledge, are difficult for researchers and students without root privileges to implement or modify, because their implementation is in kernel space. GINI is an innovative platform on conventional PCs, which brings the whole functionality of a router into user space. GINI is able to create a complex virtual network consisting of User-Mode Linux (UML), virtual switches and routers. GINI is far more than a simulation engine, because packets on a virtual link may experience real networks by going through UDP tunnels. This thesis also presents a new architecture for building flexible and configurable routers in GINI. …  Read more

By using sufficiently long prefix and orthogonal narrow-band sub-carriers with adaptive bit loading, orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA) can offer high bandwidth efficiency required for broadband wireless access communications in frequency-selective fading channels. However, when deep fading occurs in a frequency slot, it can create data loss in one or more sub-carriers. Diversity techniques could be used to enhance the performance of OFDMA in the presence of deep fades. The research presented in this thesis aims to provide diversity in OFDMA for broadband wireless access communications in frequency-selective fading channels. First, the diversity characteristics in OFDMA are examined to establish the …  Read more

Although the study of thermal transport in condensed matter has a very long history, it continues to be an active field of work due to its importance in many applications. The research subject reported in this thesis is on theoretical investigations of thermal energy transport in systems whose linear dimension is less than the wavelength of thermal phonons. Such situations occur in mesoscopic and nanoscopic scale dielectric structures which can now be fabricated in a number of laboratories. Due to the small system dimensions, phonons must be treated as waves. Thermal energy transport, therefore, must be treated as phonon wave …  Read more

The objective of this thesis is to review current approaches for the specification of design loads for rime ice and to propose improvements based on an analysis of field data provided by Hydro-Quebec. Hydro-Quebec established an experimental site on Mont Belair in 1994 for the purpose of obtaining much more detailed data on ice accretion in real time for both glaze ice and rime ice. In this study, rime ice events were identified, analyzed and characterized in terms of their recurrence, severity and relationship to winds. IEC-60826 (2000) recommended procedures are used to calculate design rime ice and wind-on-ice loadsusing …  Read more

The MicroTactus is an instrument designed to detect signals arising from the interaction of a tip with soft or hard objects and to magnify them for haptic and auditory reproduction. An enhanced arthroscopic surgical probe was developed using an accelerometer and a custom-designed actuator for haptic feedback. Measurements were made to characterize the device and the results showed that numerous factors such as gripping method and gripping force influenced the system response in a complicated manner. The device was tested with the task of detecting surface defects of a cartilage-like material. Subjects were asked to detect the cuts of different …  Read more

The sequencing of eukaryotic model organisms has provided us an unprecedented opportunity for a genome-wide characterization of Transposable Elements (TEs) and the study of TE-host relationships. By developing methodologies on database mining, we explored the existence of MUtator (Mu)-Like Elements (MULEs) in Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa. Mu elements were first discovered in Zea mays; so far, a dozen of the elements have been identified in the genome. We identified a total of 1392 MULEs from the sequenced Arabidopsis genome. They represent one of the most abundant, diversified, yet still mobile DNA transposon families in eukaryotes. The Arabidopsis MULEs are …  Read more

The objective of this thesis is to demonstrate, through analysis of the current Canadian Copyright Act and related cases, how the rapid development of Internet technology has challenged the legal protection of musical works under Canadian copyright legislation and jurisprudence. Canadian government and courts have begun contemplating these issues and attempted to formulate constitutional reform policies and effective measures for Canada. These initiatives related to copyright protection of musical works reflect a sophisticated analysis of each participant involved in music transmission through the Internet and are unique in this way. More flexible business mechanisms may contribute towards the achievement of …  Read more

This research investigated how cold temperatures affect oil/water partitioning of two commonly encountered aromatic hydrocarbon pollutants, naphthalene and benzene. Although it is generally assumed that equilibrium concentrations of organic solutes decrease with temperature, there is little data on oil-water partitioning coefficients of environmentally significant solutes or methodology description for the calculation of such coefficients. Partitioning experiments showed that equilibrium aqueous concentrations were found to depend largely on a single compound property, the excess heat of solution of the compound. Equilibrium concentrations of naphthalene decreased with decreasing temperature between 25ºC and 8ºC. But for those compounds exhibiting a solubility minimum at …  Read more

We review Cartan's method for determining whether two G-structures are locally equivalent. This method is based on the reduction of the structure group to the identity, giving rise to a complete set of local invariants. There are several techniques such as group reduction, prolongation, involutivity test, absorbtion of torsion, and normalization needed in this procedure. Next we introduce the equivalence problem for first-order Lagrangians on the line. We apply this method to the solution of the equivalence problem for the first order Lagrangians under fiber-preserving transformations, point transformations, fiber-preserving transformations up to a divergence, and point transformations up to a …  Read more

This study is aimed at evaluating the safety and quality of pressure treated fish. In order to assess safety of refrigerated fish, the sensitivity of key pathogens like Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes Scott A, which thrive under refrigerated storage conditions, needs to be assessed. In the first part of the study, the pressure destruction kinetics of E. coli and L. monocytogenes in fish were evaluated at 250 to 400 MPa with a holding time ranging from 0-60 min. A slurry was prepared by blending 20 g filleted fish and 80 ml sterile peptone water (0.1%) in a stomacher. …  Read more

This study examined three areas related to attention in primary school-aged children to answer the following questions: Are there a distinct neuropsychological differences for young children referred by teachers as lacking in attention compared to those not lacking in attention? Are there advantages to using neuropsychological measures of attention over behaviour rating scales and observations in preschool or early grade school population? Can these same neuropsychological tools evaluate the effectiveness of music with children that have attention problems? There were 24 participants in this study, 12 children rated as having attention problems by their teacher and 12 children in the …  Read more

Low hot ductility at the straightening stage of the steel continuous casting process, where the surface temperature ranges from 600 to 1200°C, is associated with transverse cracking on the billet surface. This is attributed to various microalloying elements, which are essential for the mechanical characteristics of the final products. Thermomechanical processing is a new approach to alleviate this problem. In this work, two grades of Nb-containing steel, one modified with B, were examined. In order to simulate the key parameters of continuous casting, specimens were melted in situ and subjected to thermal conditions similar to that occurring in a continuous …  Read more

Simpson, Benjamin K. (Co-Supervisor)  Read more

The species richness, abundance and composition of saproxylic Coleoptera was compared between 'old-growth' and mature-managed hemlock-hardwood forests in southeastern Ontario, Canada. Beetles were sampled weekly from 29 April until 3 October 2003 using large-area flight-intercept traps (FITs) and trunk-window traps (TTs). Analyses were conducted using the Fisher's alpha and Simpson's diversity indices, rarefaction, indicator species analysis and cluster analysis. A total of 11,888 fungivorous Coleoptera was collected from 11 families and 73 species (excluding Nitidulidae). Nitidulidae were analysed separately with traps yielding 2,129 sap beetles comprising 30 species. The species richness and abundance of fungivorous Coleoptera did not differ significantly …  Read more

The three essays of this thesis touch a variety of topics in financial econometrics. The first is an empirical investigation of aspects of transactions dynamics of currency futures. Based on the analysis of years of transactions data, the author describes the seasonal dynamic component of trade and price durations of futures and then analyses dynamics of durations using the stochastic conditional duration model (SCD). The second essay develops a model for the robust analysis of time series. Asymptotic properties of the parameter estimates of this model are established. The model is applied to the analysis of dynamics of conditional quantiles …  Read more

As the twentieth century ended with globalization and commercialization, popular culture begins to challenge the dominance of national culture. The Chinese intellectual community tries to defend national culture against the incoming global culture and local cultures. The conflicts between localism and nationalism, and also between globalism and nationalism, are clearly demonstrated in the Hero phenomenon, which basically concerns the unanimous disparagement on director Zhang Yimou's debut martial arts film Hero within the Chinese critics' circle. Through a discursive analysis of the phenomenon, we can see how the conflicts between modernism and postmodernism, between elitism and commercialism shape the landscape of …  Read more

This thesis is concerned with one of the key passive components in RFIC design, namely on-chip inductors. Complete design equations, EM simulation and data processing procedures have been established and demonstrated for 0.18um and 0.13um CMOS technologies. Following these procedures, several inductors have been designed and fabricated. A low noise amplifier (LNA) working at 6 GHz has been implemented using the TSMC 0.18 standard CMOS technology, and the prototype chip was successfully tested. As an attempt to build higher performance on-chip inductors, a new quality factor enhanced coupled inductor structure is proposed and discussed. Through intertwining and coupling two inductors, …  Read more

DRMT4 (Drosophila Arginine MethylTransferase 4) is an arginine methyltransferase in Drosophila (Boulanger et al. 2004). It shows the highest identities with mammalian PRMT4/CARM1 (Protein Arginine MethylTransferase 4) (59% identity, 75% similarity). HPLC analysis demonstrated that DRMT4 belongs to the type I class of methyltransferases (Boulanger et al. 2004), meaning that DRMT4 catalyzes asymmetrical dimethylarginine formation. A polyclonal antibody against DRMT4 was generated and used to study DRMT4 expression using western blots and immunostainings. In order to study DRMT4 function in Drosophila using genetic methods, we created three kinds of DRMT4 transgenes: a genomic DRMT4 under its own control, a genomic …  Read more

p-Cumate-2,3-dioxygenase (CDO) from Pseudomonas putida F1 converts p-cumate to cis-2,3-dihydroxy-2,3-dihydro-p-cumate, a potential useful acid cis-diol. To enhance the activity of CDO for the production of this acid cis-diol, the recombinant CDO expressed in Escherichia coli Top10 strain was evolved by directed evolution using the error-prone polymerase chain reaction (EP-PCR) method. The mutant library was screened in a 96-well format based on the enzyme's ability to transform colorless indole-2-carboxylate to the water-insoluble blue dye indigo. Screening of 300 colonies resulted in four variants, termed CDO1, CDO2, CDO3, CDO4, that have increased ability (15-38%) in the transformation of indole-2-carboxylate compared to the …  Read more

BlowSim is a powerful tool to simulate and analyze the processing parameters for the thermoforming process. In the current version, the values of eight different input analysis parameters have to be determined by software users to be able to run a simulation. In this work, the function of these parameters, their relationships, and their effects on the simulation precision and the required simulation time are examined. Rules have been developed to choose these parameters for a time efficient simulation. For any mould, there is an efficient simulation curve for the relationship between the calculation time and the simulation error. Several …  Read more

Magnesium matrix composites are very promising materials in the transportation and aerospace industries due to their enhanced characteristics and cost effectiveness. Based on the new AJ52 alloy, special attention is given to squeeze casting MMCs, with Saffil(TM) Al2O3 fibers used as the reinforcement. In order to obtain an even distribution of the fiber in the matrix, a porous preform was produced using vacuum filtration. The composites with fiber volume fraction of 5, 10, and 15% were squeeze cast and the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The main advantage of squeeze casting in fabricating of MMCs is that it can …  Read more

The goal of this thesis is to model the plastic sheet reheat and forming process for thermoforming, and to measure the exact value of heat capacity for a set of plastic materials. A series of experiments with heat flux and temperature sensors are performed on thermoforming machines at the Industrial Materials Institute, National Research Council, for the purpose of determining the heat capacity for several materials. The ambient air velocity, air temperature and the sheet internal temperatures at different depths inside a plastic sheet were measured. Based on these on-line measurements, a methodology for evaluating heat transfer coefficients and heat …  Read more

This thesis develops a quantitative quality function deployment (QFD) method and integrates it with the methodologies of value engineering and risk analysis. Numerical parameters and scales allow measurement of product development and onward adjustment as the process unfolds. In QFD, customer requirements are usually defined in terms of design characteristics. In the method developed here, customer requirements are related to product functions. The use of value engineering then allows costs to be quantified. The analysis of design uncertainties allows the determination of risk factors. By introducing the new concepts of customer satisfaction value and an integrated evaluation index, an appropriate …  Read more