McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 2005

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This thesis examines seven of Devora Neumark's artistic interventions that activate an embodied transfer or continuity of knowledge. I am inspired by phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty's notion of "the flesh of the world," that is the element enabling a reversibility between subject and object, specifically with regard to the body. Neumark draws from a repertoire of her everyday activities like crocheting or peeling beets to make a stew. She resituates the activity from one which is traditionally practiced in the private sphere of the home, often undervalued, to one which critically engages passersby in various urban settings. I study the repetitive …  Read more

Detonation waves in gaseous reactive mixtures have been known to exhibit multidimensional structure since the 1950's. The interaction of shocks and presence of unsteady triple shock interactions in the detonation structure give rise to the detonation cell, the size of which is determined by the reactive mixture and initial conditions. Detonable gaseous mixtures have been classified as regular or irregular, depending on their behavior in particular experimental conditions. The main combustion mechanisms in the structure of irregular mixtures have not yet been positively identified. The structure of detonation waves in an irregular mixture of stoichiometric methane and oxygen is observed …  Read more

The main contribution of this dissertation is a system for locating and indexing audio files on the World Wide Web. The idea behind this system is that the use of both web page and audio file analysis techniques can produce more relevant information for locating audio files on the web than is used in full-text search engines. The most important part of this system is a web crawler that finds materials by following hyperlinks between web pages. The crawler is distributed and operates using multiple computers across a network, storing results to a database. There are two main components: a …  Read more

Biophysical simulations of memory must choose which aspects of known neurophysiology and neuroanatomy to model. Relevant aspects were constrained by functional requirements determined for on-line acquisition in context dependent memory, memory that is retrieved by contextual cues. In an on-line task, the protocol of data presentation and the tunes at which encoding or retrieval in memory is needed are not predetermined. A sequence of neuronal spike patterns representing items may be presented only once. Yet, episodic memory of the sequence immediately encodes the temporal context of familiar items, a process known to depend on hippocampal function. For this, interference caused …  Read more

A series of empirical studies is presented that examine the contribution of Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 (FMR1) gene expression to the structure and function of the visual system. This contribution is documented using a histological approach in human and nonhuman primate tissue in conjunction with psychophysical testing of Fragile X Syndrome affected patients who are lacking FMR1 expression. In the first set of experiments, immunohistological studies of unaffected human and primate brain tissue were carried out to reveal the staining pattern for Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP), the protein product of the FMR1 gene, within the two main …  Read more

This thesis is concerned with asynchronous circuit design and verification. Specifically, we will focus on new methods of modeling the control of data transmission between submodules in asynchronous systems. Our methods of modeling will be applied to asynchronous circuit synthesis; the methods will also be applied to interface recasting, by which we mean transforming the communication protocol of a module interface while preserving its functional behavior. Therefore, a circuit that uses one protocol for communication at its interface can be recast to another circuit that uses a different protocol at its interface while preserving the functional behavior of the original …  Read more

Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome is a form of irritant-induced asthma that has been documented after acute exposure to chlorine (Cl2) gas. Animal models of Cl2 exposure indicate that the airway epithelium is a target. gammadelta T-Cells are present in the mucosal surface of the airways and may control the growth and differentiation of the airway epithelial cells. However, the role of these cells in the airway response to Cl 2 exposure has not been elucidated. Aim. To study the role of gammadelta T-cells in the response to Cl2 exposure with respect to inflammation and lung function. Methods. C57B1/6J (wild type) …  Read more

This investigation was focused on the in vitro metabolism of DEHA, DEHP and other common plasticizers by mammalian cell lines. The metabolic products and cell viability of hepatocytes (mouse and human) and human umbilical endothelial cells exposed to plasticizers was investigated in static culture. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry showed that all of the plasticizers investigated were partially degraded, but at differing rates, depending on the plasticizer and cell line. Solubility and stearic effects were found to play important roles in determining the rate of hydrolysis. The only metabolic product observed was 2-ethyl hexanol, which accumulated in culture. This was …  Read more

The objective of this research is to improve the analysis of musical sounds in comparison to traditional additive analysis, i.e. Fourier Analysis. Namely, the focus of this study is to improve the tracking of time-evolving partials. Traditional analysis methods assume constant amplitudes and frequencies over each successive frame in which a signal is analyzed. Tracking the time-evolution of these partials, however, can require the implementation of complex probabilistic techniques. This thesis presents an alternative method in which the Ambiguity Function, a distribution in both time and frequency, is used to create a clearer, more accurate representation that requires fewer complex …  Read more

Semiparametric and nonparametric estimators are becoming indispensable tools in applied econometrics. Many of these estimators depend on the choice of smoothing bandwidth and kernel function. Optimality of such parameters is determined by unobservable smoothness of the model, that is, by differentiability of the distribution functions of random variables in the model. In this thesis we consider two estimators of this class: the smoothed maximum score estimator for binary choice models and the kernel density estimator. We present theoretical results on the asymptotic distribution of the estimators under various smoothness assumptions and derive the limiting joint distributions for estimators with different …  Read more

Children learn from a variety of sources. One of the most powerful pedagogical sites for kids is the consumer sphere. Marketers recognize this and have recently carved out a new consumer niche for those between childhood and adolescence, marking them as tweens. La Senza Corporation, which specializes in women's lingerie, responded to this trend by opening a tween store with a name heavily laden with meanings of sexuality: La Senza Girl. This study will apply a textual analysis to the tween retail space, in an effort to understand the informal pedagogy that takes place within this milieu. While La Senza …  Read more

The main purpose of this thesis is to justify the density functional theory of freezing in the case of a crystal with square symmetry. In the first part, I discuss the widely used technique of molecular dynamics to characterise the dynamics and statistical observables of a system undergoing a phase transition. I then outline the advantages and the main drawbacks of this technique: slow implementation and poor performance for long time scales. It is shown that order parameter or phenomenological theories of freezing paliate those problems. These theories describe the dynamics of one parameter that starts in a highly symmetric …  Read more

The idea of corruption travels down and supports this thesis. It stands as one of the principal stakes of the Homeric Quarrel. By analysing it, we may deepen our understanding of the value the famous hellenist Anne Dacier placed on the heritage of the Anciens and its reception by the Moderns; we may also better understand in which ways her engagement in polemics belonged to her times. Anne Dacier was less an apologist of Homer than a polemist who attacked the corrupted taste of her contemporaries. She feared for them, but above all, she feared for the Homeric text. She …  Read more

Sorghum is a gluten free cereal and forms the staple diet of a majority of the populations living in the semi-arid tropics dough. It is usually consumed in the form of bread made from the grain flour. Dough made with sorghum flour has poor viscoelastic properties compared to wheat dough and mechanical methods for production of sorghum roti are scarce. This study was conducted to elucidate the rheological and thermal properties of sorghum dough to establish its behavior. The temperature and amount of water used for preparation of the dough and the composition of the flour were varied. Wheat, soya …  Read more

Thermoforming is a process of forming thermoplastic sheets into three-dimensional shapes by heating it to tender soft and pliable, and then, forcing the sheet into or over the shape of a mold by applying differential pressure or vacuum. Sheet reheat is the most important step in thermoforming because its result can affect all subsequent processing steps. In order to develop an advanced in-cycle and cycle-to-cycle control strategy, one needs to track the desired sheet temperature profiles throughout the reheat cycle, and identify and characterize the process and material parameters that vary from cycle-to-cycle and batch-to-batch. Absorptivity of the polymer sheet …  Read more

Robots carrying tasks in an unknown environment often need to build a map in order to be able to navigate. One approach is to create a detailed map of the environment containing the position of obstacles. But this option can use a large amount of memory, especially if the environment is large. Another approach, closer to how people build a mental map, is the topological map. A topological map contains only places that are easy to recognize (landmarks) and links them together. In this thesis, we explore the issue of creating a topological map from range data. A robot in …  Read more

The NADP-dependent trifunctional methylenetetrahydrofolate Dehydrogenase-Cyclohydrolase-Synthetase (DCS) is responsible for the interconversion of one-carbon substituted tetrahydrofolates (THFs) required for methylation reactions and nucleotide synthesis in the cytoplasm of mammalian cells. A spontaneously immortalized DCS null fibroblast cell line was found to be a purine auxotroph due to a lack of 10-formylTHF required for de novo purine synthesis (Christensen et al. 2005). Using a retroviral infection system the DCS null fibroblasts were infected with constructs designed to express wild type DCS or proteins with D and S activities inactivated by point mutations. Western analysis and activity assays confirmed protein expression. All constructs …  Read more

Retinoic acid (RA), the principal biologically active retinoid, is essential for normal differentiation of a wide variety of cell types. Vitamin A deficiency predisposes to certain cancers and it has since been discovered that retinoids display antitumorigenic activity in many models. Keratinocytes with a null mutation in the RARgamma and RARalphagamma genes are predisposed to tumorigenesis in vivo. This outcome is reversed by the re-introduction of a functional RAR, suggesting that some retinoid-target gene(s) are implicated in tumour formation in this model. Suppressive subtractive hybridization techniques have been used to isolate RA-responsive genes no longer regulated in RAR-null keratinocytes. This …  Read more

This qualitative study examines sixteen women's understanding of their experiences in community organizing in a northern urban context. While most front-line community organizing is done by women, there is a paucity of research giving voice to their particular realities. Similarly, there is little information describing community organizing in a northern urban context. The study's conceptual frameworks draw on theory and research from rural and northern social work, activist mothering, feminist social policy, diversity and exclusion, and the social construction of identities. It follows a feminist research paradigm. The study illustrates women community organizers' sense of place and their perceptions of …  Read more

Arsenic disposal is one of the most important environmental issues the mining and metallurgical industries are faced with. This problem has worsened in recent years because of the increasing arsenic content of the low-grade and complex ores currently processed by the mining industry and the introduction of stricter environmental regulations. This Ph.D. thesis sought to develop a novel concept for arsenic fixation suitable for the long-term safe disposal of arsenic generated and disposed by the minerals industry. In particular this research project investigates the encapsulation of scorodite, a well characterized Fe(III)-As(V) compound having the following formula FeAsO4·2H2O, with phosphate coatings, …  Read more

Earlier work with the dibenzoate plasticizers, di(propylene-glycol) dibenzoate (D(PG)DB) and di(ethylene-glycol) dibenzoate (D(EG)DB), had shown that one yeast could hydrolyze one of the ester bonds of these compounds resulting in an accumulation of the monoesters, di(propylene-glycol) monobenzoate or di(ethylene-glycol) monobenzoate, respectively. These monoesters exhibited an acute toxicity greater than that of the parent compounds and greater than the metabolites of the widely used phthalate and adipate plasticizers. In the present study, it was shown that the degradation of dibenzoate plasticizers is a common phenomenon among soil microorganisms. In most examples, the degradation was incomplete leading to the accumulation of the …  Read more

An ORF encoding a polypeptide with homology to protein phosphatases 2C (PP2Cs) was identified in the genomes of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi strains CT18 and Ty2. Analysis of the amino acid sequence revealed an N-terminal segment containing motifs of the catalytic domain of PP2Cs and a C-terminal segment with an unknown function. This protein, termed PrpZ, was expressed as a histidine-tagged fusion protein (PrpZHis) and the purified protein was analyzed for its ability to dephosphorylate various substrates. The Mn2+/Mg2+-dependent phosphatase activity of PrpZHis was inhibited by EDTA and sodium fluoride but unaffected by okadaic acid, indicating that PrpZ is a …  Read more

This study employed satellite telemetry to document dispersal and migratory behaviour of nine juvenile Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and two adult and five hatch-year Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) from central Labrador between 15 Aug 2002--31 Dec 2003. Autumn average departure dates were 20 October 2002 and 13 November 2003 for the eagles and 13 October for both 2002/2003 Osprey, siblings migrating independently. Juvenile Osprey travelled at an average rate of 200 km/d during fall migration; one adult travelled at a rate of 188 km/d enroute to the Dominican Republic. Eagles travelled an average distance of 1200 km over 40 days at …  Read more

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms can be interpreted in two ways regarding its relation with administrative law. First, as an alternative statutory remedy against government; second, as a general democratic mandate to reconsider the foundations of Canadian administrative law. Nevertheless, in spite of the entrenchment of the Charter, the former interpretation has prevailed. Indeed, since 1982, the Charter has developed as a distinct body of rights operating separately from administrative law remedies. The interpretation of the Charter as a distinct statutory remedy has caused problems in both the definition of administrative power under the Charter and in the …  Read more

An electrostatic decelerator system capable of bringing to rest a continuous 60 keV DC ion-beam was developed and tested as to its suitability as the first part of a high-performance RFQ buffer gas beam cooler. The decelerator is intended to decelerate high-energy ions for injection into an RFQ ion-guide capable of producing bunches of ions at a repetition rate up to 100 Hz. Simulations of the ion motion through the decelerator and into the guide were made to test the design, and the decelerator was then constructed following the parameters used in the simulations. Although problems, such as sparking between …  Read more

Most modern computer games provide a virtual environment as a context for player interaction. Recently, many multi-player online games have adopted the persistent-state gaming model, which provides a central virtual environment with essentially infinite lifetime. However, a displeasing part of these long-lasting environments is that, like their predecessors, they are still assumed to be static, unchanging even in the long-term. In response to this fact, we introduce the adaptive virtual environment which automatically adapts based on activity occurring within the environment. In computer games, adaptive virtual environments are systems that correspond to real-world physical or social systems. These systems are …  Read more

In this thesis, spacecraft rendezvous and spacecraft formation flying were examined in context of the TECSAS mission. Three terminal rendezvous trajectories, one V-bar approach and two R-bar approaches, are compared in terms of DeltaV fuel usage and time of flight (TOF). Results showed that the lidar-based V-bar approach trajectory with a 90 m straight-line approach distance is the optimal scenario for the given TECSAS mission guidelines. Four formation flying scenarios are examined: two projected circular formations and two in-track formations. The effects of the J2 and atmospheric drag perturbations on these formations are studied for several time spans. Results showed …  Read more

We use an atomic force microscope to perform nanolithography by local oxidation on two-dimensional electron gases. We study the oxidation process under different environmental conditions. It is found that oxide growth is hindered at high temperature and affected by ozone. These findings help us to understand the role of the water film present on the surface, and lead us to propose a mechanism that would avoid its widening effect. We develop a new lithography technique, diamond scribe scratching, and use it to make coarse mesoscopic structures. Then, we combine diamond scribe scratching and local oxidation to fabricate working mesoscopic structures, …  Read more

Iron Bay is a small community situated on the North Shore of the province of Quebec, where people work mainly in the resources and industrial sectors. This study examines the social relations of the workers of an iron pellet plant in that community, both at work and outside. The social organization of work, the relations between hierarchical orders at work and leisure activities are examined to produce an ethnographic account of the way of life of an affluent, if isolated, segment of the working class of Quebec.  Read more

Excitotoxic neonatal lesion of the ventral hippocampus (NVH) in rats has been proposed as a putative neurodevelopmental animal model of schizophrenia, with characteristic post-pubertal behavioral and neurochemical abnormalities comparable to those observed in this disease including alterations in dopaminergic (DA) neurotransmission and prefrontal cortical functions. Dysfunctions in the mesocorticolimbic DA system are believed to contribute to some of the behavioural manifestations of schizophrenia. Accumulating evidence also suggests that alterations in the activity of cortical cholinergic neurotransmission may be involved in the cognitive abnormalities seen in major neuropsychiatric disorders. These two neurotransmitter systems are functionally interlinked as the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system …  Read more

This thesis attempts to chart the development of a Jamaican musical form known as dub. This development is considered primarily in terms of the island's encounter with a series of new playback, amplification, recording, and sound treatment technologies. Section I focuses on the formation of the Jamaican sound system (a network of powerful mobile discos) and its pivotal role in the birth of a fertile domestic record industry. Section II extends the investigation to the Jamaican recording studio and record industry. What distinguishes this work from others on Jamaican dub is its emphasis on technology, and theories of technology, within …  Read more

Reduction of milk production following acute bovine mastitis causes important economic losses. In this study, two experiments were conducted to asses the ability of different antioxidants to prevent neutrophil (PMN)-induced mammary damage in acute bovine mastitis. First, a co-culture model composed of bovine mammary epithelial cell line (MAC-T cells) and bovine PMN activated by phorbol myristate acetate was used. Activated PMN release reactive oxygen species that are cytotoxic for bovine epithelial cells. Addition of dimethylthiourea or bathocuproinic acid did not induce any protective effect. On the other hand, addition of catechin, deferoxamine or glutathione ethyl ester (GEE) significantly reduced PMN-induced …  Read more

Reinforcement Learning is a class of methods for solving sequential decision problems when the model of the environment is not known. In this framework, the agent must explore the environment to gather more information about the model and the utility of each of its actions, while striving to act as well as possible using limited knowledge. One of the major obstacles that prevent reinforcement learning from being extended to real-life settings is the fact that the agent is blind to the risk of actions during learning, potentially ending up in catastrophic states. This thesis presents a model-based directed exploration method …  Read more

Lactococcus lactis are intensely being studied for the oral delivery of vaccines and other therapeutics to the mucosa of the gastrointesintal tract (GIT). In this thesis, we explore a new development by applying microencapsulation technology. A comparative study of the viability and protein secretion of free and alginate-poly-l-lysine-alginate (APA) encapsulated engineered L. lactis has demonstrated the effectiveness of this new system. The viability of microcapsules in in vitro culture conditions and simulated gastrointestinal (SGI) environments was also investigated. The latter condition exhibited inferior survival, and the attributing factors were identified. Subsequently, a novel system for the sustained delivery of a …  Read more

Since Antiquity, the granting of amnesty to past atrocities has played a prominent role in political transitions. However, the moralized discourse of human rights that has emerged after the end of the Second World War has called for prosecutions in such cases. This study shows that granting individual amnesties to those responsible for past atrocities, as opposed to their prosecution, is a critical element in paving the way towards homonoia---harmony or concord---in a community that has been affected by civil strife. After having explored the origins of amnesty in Ancient Athens and its similarities with the amnesties granted by early …  Read more

Model organism Caenorhabditis elegans is a 1 mm long, soil-dwelling hermaphrodite nematode, which feeds on bacteria. Contributing to a peptidomic project, procedures to compare the peptide content of different life stages have been developed for monitoring protein expression, processing and turnover. Sequential step and continuous gradient RP-HPLC fractionation and mass spectrometry have proved effective. A class of cysteine-rich peptide previously discovered in this laboratory has been studied. Three chromosome V genes encode such peptides. The small, cysteine-rich, and secreted character is reminiscent of some cysteine-containing antimicrobial peptides, notably mytilins and mytilins (Mytilus galloprovincialis ), Ascaris suum antibacterial factor (ASABF) and …  Read more

Side-effect analysis gives information about the set of locations that a statement may read or modify. This analysis can provide information useful in a compiler for performing aggressive optimizations. The impact of the use of side-effect analysis in compiler optimizations has been studied for programming languages such as Modula-3 and C, but no thorough investigation for Java has been done. We present a study of whether side-effect information improves performance in Java just-in-time (JIT) compilers, and if so, what level of analysis precision is needed. We also analyze the optimizations and benchmarks that benefit most from side-effect analysis. We used …  Read more

Le regime juridique instaure par le legislateur quebecois en matiere de consentement aux soins pour le majeur inapte merite d'etre revise. La determination de cette inaptitude produit des effets importants. Le constat d'inaptitude prive la personne majeure de son droit de prendre une decision a l'egard de sa sante, une des spheres les plus personnelles et privees de sa vie. Cette these utilise une approche transdisciplinaire, puisant a la fois dans le droit et la bioethique, pour evaluer de facon critique: l'encadrement de la determination de cette inaptitude, la determination juridique de cette inaptitude et les dispositions pertinentes du Code …  Read more

The survival of neurons during nervous system development depends on the interaction of neurotrophins with cell surface receptors, of which the Trk tyrosine kinase family mediates survival and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) mediates apoptosis. Within the cell, these receptors generate functionally antagonistic signal transduction cascades, and the relationship between Trk and p75NTR signaling determines whether a neuron will ultimately survive or die. Downstream of these receptors, the p53 family, which includes p53, p63, and p73, has been shown to be critical mediators of neuronal survival. Like Trk and p75NTR, pro- and anti-apoptotic p53 family members are functionally antagonistic. The …  Read more

Research over the past several decades on the nature of Inuit hunting of narwhals has focused upon harvesting technologies and the traditional ecological knowledge of modern hunting of the species. However, as much as such work has contributed to our understanding of Inuit and narwhal interaction, less is known about contemporary Inuit hunting behaviour of narwhal. The research presented in this dissertation redresses this gap by providing a detailed behavioural description and analysis of the Inuit narwhal hunting in two critical environments utilized by the Inuit of Pond Inlet---those of the spring floe-edge and the summer open water. This information …  Read more

This inquiry explores six Korean students' personal narratives about their living and learning experiences in their study abroad contexts. My goal is to examine the relationships between learner agency and symbolic power embedded in these six students' second language (L2) sociocultural contexts such as school, home and communities. The theoretical framework is derived primarily from Vygotskian sociocultural theory, Bakhtinian dialogic theory, and Bourdieuian critical approach to language practices. Drawing on an interpretive qualitative approach, I examine social, cultural, historical and political forces that influence the ways these students perceive, evaluate and negotiate their challenges and struggles in their social worlds. …  Read more

Article 17 in the Warsaw Convention 1929, the core provision to all liability for passenger injury and death, has been the most litigated Article of the Warsaw Convention. The main reason for this is that the Warsaw Convention, the axis of private international air law, unfortunately did not provide clear definitions regarding "accident" and "bodily injury" in the Article 17. Its amendments, the Hague Protocol 1955 and the Guatemala Protocol 1971, did not succeed in clarifying the meanings. Although the Montreal Conference 1999 witnessed strong debates regarding the amendment of Article 17, the Montreal Convention 1999 did not succeed in …  Read more

A heat pipe is a heat transfer device of very high thermal conductance that features two-phase flow. Research at McGill University has led to the development of the McGill Heat Pipe which includes an internal flow modifier. Such a heat pipe can be operated at very high heat fluxes. This area of heat pipe technology has potential in many applications in metallurgical industries. This thesis describes how the McGill heat pipe was developed, tested, modeled and applied in high heat flux situations. Until the development of the McGill Heat Pipe, three main issues had prevented the successful use of heat …  Read more

The majority of genetic traits including most common diseases are believed to be multigenic and arise both from variations in coding sequences as well as from regulatory polymorphisms. Genome-wide approaches are needed to develop models for understanding this complexity. This thesis develops approaches for studying genetic variation affecting gene expression on a genome-wide scale. This included development of experimental design principles and analytical methods for microarray data. These principles were then applied to characterize differences between commonly-used A/J and C57BL/6J inbred mouse strains at the molecular level identifying over 2000 genes differentially expressed between these strains across 4 tissues. To …  Read more

Cohen, S. Robin (Co-Supervisor)  Read more

The purpose of this study is to explore how the Arabic novel can and does challenge the conventional characterization of what constitutes constructive Middle East historiography. The thesis draws on a case study of undergraduate history course syllabi in order to highlight a number of crucial issues related to Arabic literature and the production of modern Middle East history. My analysis of the syllabi concludes that in general, Arabic novels in translation are part of a varied group of resources selected by a professor in order to complement the "official" histories provided by textbooks and government documents. The novel is …  Read more

Preliminary data suggests that the lipogenic factor Acylation Stimulating Protein (ASP), stimulates the activity of calcium-dependent phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) by increasing intracellular calcium levels [Ca2+]i and by activating extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2). The arachidonic acid (AA) generated by cPLA2 action appears to function as a second messenger in ASP signaling. ASP also blocks TG breakdown. The calcium-independent PLA2 (iPLA2) zeta has recently been identified as a novel TG-lipase in 3T3-L1 cells. Bromoenol lactone (BEL), a non-reversible iPLA2 inhibitor, has been shown to specifically inhibit the TG-lipase activity of this enzyme. Preliminary data demonstrates that BEL stimulates basal TG synthesis, …  Read more

The threat of environmental mercury (Hg), particularly methylmercury (MeHg), exposure to the health of humans has been well documented. Thus, it is important to monitor exposure and body burden for public health protection. The first objective of this thesis was to characterize the risk of Hg exposure in two Canadian coastal communities: Grand Marian (n = 91) and St. Andrews/St. Stephen (n = 52), New Brunswick, Canada, using dietary questionnaires and hair analysis. Average Hg intakes and body burden were below the most conservative guidelines. We attributed these results to the low Hg concentrations found in the species commonly consumed: …  Read more

This thesis is the first modern critical edition of La Complainte de Nature, a poem of alchemy written in middle French containing 1822 verses in the base manuscript. This work is divided in two parts: in the first, Nature presents her grievances to the alchemist so that he ceases his quest for the philosopher's stone by explaining to him that only she, Nature, can produce gold. In the second part, the alchemist promises to abandon his futile quest and to obey the laws of Nature. The accompanying text contains an introduction offering precisions about the author, the work, and its …  Read more