McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par A

In respect both of legal theory and technical legal thought, Kufians stood mid-way between ancient schools and Shâfi'i.  Read more

Nationalism is a relatively recent phenomenon in human history. For, in the past man's loyalty had been due not to the nation-state or nationality, but to differing forms of social authority, political organization and ideological cohesion such as tribe or clan, the city state or the feudal lord, the dynastic state, the church or the religious group. During the Middle Ages there are hardly any traces of nationalism, either in the Islamic World or Christendom. In those times, the abject of popular loyalty was not nationality but religion. In Europe, "the object of popular loyalty which was superior to all …  Read more

Despite advances in mesometeorology and computer technology, high-resolution numerical simulations of small-scale severe weather events remain extremely challenging. This is primarily due to insufficient initial conditions and inadequate convective parameterization schemes (CPSs). This thesis serves to illustrate how these difficulties may be overcome in a real-data simulation of the Garden City, Kansas, tornadic thunderstorm, which occurred during the VORTEX (Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment) field experiment of 1995. Using a sophisticated mesoscale model at 18 km horizontal resolution, a successful reproduction of the environment over southwestern Kansas is obtained. However, modifications to the CPS are required …  Read more

The Muslim community constituting 90% of Indonesla's total population, remains divided into two major factions: the Secular Nationalists, who believe in a radical separation between state and religion, and the Islamic Nationalists who, while not insisting on a fully Islamic State maintain that the Constitution should include a recognition of the special place of Islam. This thesis offers a study of the controversies surrounding the Five Basic Principles of the State, the Panca Sila, officia1ly formulated for the first time in the Jakarta Charter signed on June 22nd 1945. Special attentionis paid to the revision of the Charter on August …  Read more

This work is a comparative study of the process of secularization in Turkey and Indonesia, with reference to the thought and policies of Mustafa Kemal and Sukarno. In their rational approach to religion and the concern to modernize their societies the two leaders were guided by a secularist paradigm of the relationship of state and religion that each formulated. The abolition of the sultanate-caliphate system, the end of Islam as the state religion and the replacement of Shari/'a by Western codes demonstrated the impact of modernization and secularization on Turkey. The "polity-dominance secularization" of Mustafa Kemal along with, among other …  Read more

Gavzleski, John (Supervisor)  Read more

Wainberg, Mark (Supervisor1)  Read more

Conditional computation aims at leveraging the computational expense of very large models by imposing a sparse computation prior. At the core of the idea lies the need for model subsets specialization. To do so, an active selection of the model's subsets must be learned and leveraged by the computation.In this thesis, we explore the application of various techniques to learn deep models which use conditional computation. Also, we suggest a new architectural framework for reinforcement learning problems which subscribes to the option framework; an approach which allows the agent to take temporally extended actions  Read more

Cette thèse porte sur la façon dont les connaissances conceptuelles liées aux objets sont représentées et sur les mécanismes qui permettent d’y accéder dans les premières phases du traitement visuel. Trois questions principales ont guidé ce travail: (1) Quel type d’information est accessible au moment où un objet est reconnu, c’est-à-dire quel est le niveau d’entrée dans sa représentation conceptuelle? (2) À quel moment cette information devient-elle disponible? (3) Dans quelle mesure ces processus sont-ils influencés par nos expériences sociales, notamment les contextes visuels où apparaissent les objets et la diversité d’usage des mots qui servent à les nommer et …  Read more

Seven monkeys were injected with 3H-thymidine (1 µc/gm bw). The testes from three monkeys were removed three hours after injection, and of the remaining four animals twelve days and three hours after injection. By using the relative duration of the stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium (expressed as % of their frequency) and the percentage of tubular cross-sections containing the most evolved labelled germ cells, the duration of the cycle was calculated and found to be equal to 11.6 days. The duration of spermatogenesis which extends over the duration of 3.9 consecutive cycles, is therefore approximately equal to …  Read more

L'application de micro-organismes bénéfiques pour améliorer la croissance des plantes ‎cultivées a donné des résultats irréguliers en raison de problèmes liés à la viabilité de ‎l'inoculation microbienne, à l'efficacité de la promotion de la croissance et aux conditions ‎environnementales. Les inoculants de consortiums microbiens pourraient jouer un rôle clé dans ‎l'établissement d'une plante et contribuer à sa santé et à son développement, en particulier dans ‎des conditions climatiques défavorables. Les rhizobactéries favorisant la croissance des plantes ‎‎(PGPR) sont des micro-organismes du sol prometteurs en raison de leur capacité à contribuer à ‎la fixation de l'azote, à la solubilisation du phosphore, …  Read more

Les cellules dendritiques (DC) ont un rôle central dans l'immunité à médiation cellulaire et elles sont aujourd'hui au centre de nombreuses stratégies d'immunothérapie. Récemment, un essai clinique à base des DC autologues, a été initié à l'Institut Thoracique de Montréal pour évaluer l'effet d'une immunothérapie (AGS-004) à amplifier les réponses immunitaires des lymphocytes T chez les sujets infectés par le VIH-1. Cependant, le risque potentiel de l'activation des lymphocytes B, menant au développement de maladies auto-immunes, a été soulevé suivant des immunothérapies à base de DC. Dans le présent travail, nous avons évalué l'innocuité, la tolérance et les changements des …  Read more

This dissertation presents a series of studies aimed at applying machine learning methods to information derived from magnetic resonance (MR) based examinations in order to aid in the pre-surgical evaluation of patients with epilepsy. Two forms of epilepsy were studied: non-lesional temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and extra-temporal lobe epilepsy (ETLE) due to malformations of cortical development (MCD). Regarding patients with TLE, our aim was to predict outcome, in terms of reduction of seizure frequency, following surgical resection. To this end, we trained a Bayesian classifier on results from volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), which …  Read more

Collections of snails were made during spring, summer and fall of 1963 along the Ottawa River in the vicinity of Ste. Anne de Bellevue, near Montreal, Quebec. This area is inhabited by muskrats and frequented by many migratory birds. The river contains an abundance of fish and frogs, making it an ideal place for this study. One species of snail, Lymnaea catascopium pallida (Adams) is abundant in this area and harbours many species of larval trematodes. An intensive investigation of this species of snail revealed that only cercariae belonging to the following genera: Cotylurus flabelliformis (Faust, 1917) Van Haitsma, 1931, …  Read more

This thesis explores how Palestinian prisoners in Israel and across the Middle East organized and mobilized during periods of nationalist revolt since the 1970s. It examines the way prisoners formed internal governing structures and committees that provided order, discipline, and services, like education. With the help of these structures, prisoners raised morale and maintained the unity necessary for collective action. Prisoners participated in collective actions ranging from noncompliance, hunger strikes and refusing to stand for counts to more militant stances, like rioting, and arson. Prisoners themselves created important art works and also came to be symbols of sumud, or steadfastness …  Read more

This thesis examines the role of string loops in large-scale structure formation and ultimately puts constraints on cosmic strings as was done in [1]. Cosmic strings are expected to form loops. These can act as seeds for accretion of dark matter, leading to the formation of ultracompact minihalos (UCMHs). We perform a detailed study of the accretion of dark matter onto cosmic string loops and compute the resulting mass distribution of UCMHs. We then apply observational limits on the present-day abundance of UCMHs to derive corresponding limits on the cosmic string tension $G\mu$. The bounds are strongly dependent upon the …  Read more

This thesis details the development of a collection of methods to measure the material parameters of mechanically-created neurites. Neurites are long thin processes extending from the body of a nerve cell. To characterize the material response of a neurite to a deformation, information about both its tension and its geometry are required and the body of this thesis is divided accordingly. In the first part, we describe a platform to precisely control and manoeuverneurite-tethered polystyrene beads. We use a mechanical probe composed of a hollow micropipettewith its tip fixed to a functionalized bead to incite the formation of a neurite …  Read more

By inducing a steady state of 133Xe exchange across the lung and measuring the 133Xe concentration in individual lung regions, we were able to measure steady state regional ventilation/perfusion ratios (VA/Q). This technique was combined with independent assessments of regional ventilation and blood flow, and a variety of subjects studied. Erect normal subjects showed an apex-to-base gradient in VA/Q which, though sizable, did not explain all VA/Q variation reported in such lungs. Seated post-pneumonectomy patients wew examined; the increased flow through the remaining lung decreased, apex-to-base differences in perfusion and VA/Q, but ventilation distribution was unchanged. [...]  Read more

Production of food and continuous supply thereof is perhaps the most critical factor in sustaining the growth, economy and security of a nation. This point is brought into the foreground most strikingly during periods of war, particularly when rationing has to be imposed. During and since the Second World War, pressure on agriculture in general and on animal industry in particular has mounted continuously to produce more and better meat, milk and eggs, and at less cost to the consumer, to keep in step with the rapidly growing population. With the prices of basic livestock feeds and protein supplements remaining …  Read more

A murine model of host resistance to infection with Francisella tularensis, live vaccine strain, has been established. This facultative intracellular bacterium causes in mice an acute infection which lasts for approximately 12 days. Resistance to infection is associated with the appearance in the spleens of cells with the ability to transfer anti-tularemic resistance to naive mice, a response which is maximal 7 days following infection. Depletion of B cells does not compromise the ability of immune cells to transfer resistance. Treatment of mice with immune serum prior to infection leads to an increased hepatic and decreased splenic growth of Francisella. …  Read more

Le cumul de glace en vol sur les surfaces d'avions pose des conditions extrêmement dangereuses. La diminution de l'angle de décrochage, l'augmentation de la traînée et l'ingestion de glace peuvent causer des incidents ainsi que des accidents mortels. Des méthodes de simulation numérique ont été mises au point récemment pour prévoir la formation de glace sur les ailes des aéronefs, ce qui facilite la conception des systèmes d'antigivrage. Cependant, les simulations d'accrétion de glace sur les hélicoptères trainent de l'arrière. Par exemple, aux meilleures connaissances de l'auteur, une méthode complète d'analyse de la trajectoire des blocs de glace pour les …  Read more

Muscle development and regeneration is characterized by a well-defined genetic cascade that accompanies progenitor cell expansion, differentiation, and fusion to form bundles of myofibers, which represent the main contractile unit of skeletal muscle. This cascade is initiated by paired-box transcription factor Pax3 and maintained by staggered expression of a family of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors that includes Myf5, MyoD, MyoG, and Mrf4; the canonical "myogenic regulatory factors." The timing and progression of this genetic cascade is regulated at the post-transcriptional level by conserved small RNA species called microRNAs (miRNAs), without which terminal differentiation of this lineage cannot occur. While …  Read more

Motivated by the problem of aircraft and space-shuttle landing on an underlying unpaved soil surface in an emergency, a time-dependent mathematical formulation of high-speed wheel mobility on soil is developed and solved by a control-volume-based finite element method. The wheel-soil contact forces are determined solely on the basis of the physics of the problem. Thus, none of the usual assumptions or simplifications regarding the distribution of interfacial normal and/or shear stresses, albeit in the context of quasi-static wheel mobility, is made. The formulation allows for the incorporation of arbitrary soil constitutive equations, hence strain-rate effects. Soil and wheel inertia are …  Read more

Dans cette recherche nous développons un modèle océan-atmosphère-glace de mer de complexité réduite afin d'étudier la réponse transitoire du climat au forçage de Milankovitch. La composante océanique est un modèle zonalement intégré de circulation océanique. La composante atmosphérique est un modèle unidimensionnel (latitudinal) du bilan énergétique de l'atmosphère. Nous utilisons un modèle thermodynamique de glace de mer. Les expériences numériques suivantes sont réalisées sur la base de ce modèle.Premièrement, deux expériences numériques sont effectuées pour l'intervalle de temps 5-3 Myr BP. Une expérience ne comprend pas la glace de mer, ni l'Océan Arctique; l'autre expérience comprend ces deux caractéristiques. Un …  Read more

L'innervation neurale des gonades est présente chez plusieurs espèces de mollusques et de mammifères. Cependant, nous connaissons peu de choses sur la fonction d'une telle innervation. Je presente des preuves qu'une branche du nerf intestinal comportant plusieurs milliers de fibres axonales procure une innervation sensorielle de l'ovotestis de l'escargot terrestre Helix aspersa. Je démontre une correlation entre le nombre d'ovocytes mûrs dans les gonades et la fréquence de pics d'activité afférente dans le nerf. Je propose que cette innervation fonctionne pour prévenir le système nerveux central lorsqu'une quantité adéquate d'ovocytes matures est disponible pour l'oviposition. Je suggère que les signaux …  Read more

Consensus on physical mechanisms linking work posture to discomfort and disorder risk has not been reached. The objective of this dissertation was to use a series of laboratory studies to identify measurements associated with discomfort and disorder risk in lower limb, back and neck/shoulder regions, and assess how these measurement outcomes differ between standing, seated and sit-standing postures. Participatory intervention methods were also used to investigate workplace factors that impact on posture selection and rotation. In the core set of investigations, healthy participants performed an industrially-modelled box-folding task over three 34-minute sessions in standing, seated and sit-standing postures (developed using …  Read more

The traditional Economic Dispatch and Unit Commitment problem formulations are not able to handle any variability in the load and non-dispatchable generation like solar and wind power. Prior work developed an Economic Dispatch formulation using the concept of flexibility envelopes. The envelope, like the stochastic scenario-based approach, is an approach able to deal with the variability of the load and non-dispatchable generation at minimal computational cost. In this thesis, we first propose a Unit Commitment formulation using the flexibility envelope approach. This formulation takes into account the commitment, start-up and shut-down of dispachable generating units. The main innovation lies with …  Read more

Ollivier Dyens (Supervisor2)  Read more

In order to reach the exceptional level of interconnectivity observed in the nervous system, newborn neurons must accomplish the feat of establishing appropriate synaptic connections as they navigate through the plethora of directional cues expressed in the extracellular environment. The distal tip of the axon, called the growth cone, expresses cell surface receptors that sense these extracellular cues and trigger intracellular signaling cascades that direct the growth of the axon. This thesis examines the molecular mechanisms that mediate attractive axon guidance downstream of the chemotropic cue netrin-1 and its receptor deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC). DCC becomes phosphorylated following the …  Read more

Picone, Michelangelo (Supervisor)  Read more

Mayo, Nancy (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

This study analyzes ownership and directorship links among larger Canadian-owned corporations. These links have received insufficient attention from Canadian economists. It shows that these corporations did not undergo the radical changes predicted for their counterparts in other countries: proprietor ownership remains high, and the board of directors persists as the centre of power. Ownership links form the basis for the development and empirical investigation of the "Shadow Group" concept. The taxonomical classification of shadow groups reveals complex structures accompanying diversification strategies. Interlocking directorships exist among "core" corporations inside the groups and are frequent between the shadow groups and the rest …  Read more

Aebi, M. (Supervisor)  Read more

The action of RCG on pathways of steroid biosynthesis was studied 'in vitro' using different tissues. In placental minces, testostercne aromatization to estrone and estradiol was increased by NADP, further enhanced by the simultaneous addition of HCG and/or cyclic 3 ; ,5, -AMP, but not to the same extent as following addition of G-6-p. The effect of HCG required intact cells and was only observed after a lag period of one to two hours. In the absence of NADP, HCG and cyclic 3 ,I ,5I -AMP inhibited aromatization. In adrenal tissues from either newborn infants or adult rats, HCG inhibited …  Read more

Concevoir des événements futurs comme ayant déjà eu lieu est le thème que deux genres d'illustrations (architecturalle et anatomique) se partagent ici par l'entremise de la notion de coupe/tranche. On y examine à quel point ces représentations percent leur surfaces pour se remettre radicalement en question par rapport à leur intentions reçues.  Read more

Uganda has reached a peace agreement with the leaders of the LRA, indicted by the ICC, in which they would be tried by national tribunals and serve “alternative sentences”. The LRA demands the withdrawal of the ICC warrants as a pre-condition to any settlement. While this peace proposal may not satisfy the admissibility regime of the Rome Statute, this thesis argues that in certain circumstances the ICC Prosecutor could defer to accountability mechanisms falling short of formal prosecution and punishment if it is in the “interests of justice” to do so pursuant to Article 53 of the Rome Statute. The …  Read more

In the modeling of piezoelectric vibrators, one of the universally used assumptions is that the exterior electroquasistatic field due to the electric flux leakage through the piezoelectric-air interface can be neglected. This approximation, valid for materials with large dielectric constants, can introduce a significant error in the simulation of piezoelectric crystals whose permittivity is comparable with that of free space. Because models that take into account the electric flux leakage are virtually non-existent, the objective of this thesis is to develop a solution of the three-dimensional piezoelectric problem which is referred to, by analogy with electromagnetics, as electrically unbounded. To …  Read more

The thesis traces the concepts of such crimes under international law as genocide and crimes against humanity, of individual and collective responsibility for these crimes, and identifies the place of crimes of former communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe among them. The thesis examines the sources of a duty to investigate and to punish human rights violations of a prior regime in international treaty and customary law which is not affected by a succession of States. An analysis of different methods by which post-communist democracies of Central and Eastern Europe come to terms with their past gives evidence of …  Read more

Efficient utilization of planting areas in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is essential for maximizing crop yield. This thesis focuses on the optimization of plant spacing and planting patterns for romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in a controlled environment hydroponic system. By identifying the optimum planting area, resource use efficiency and profit of CEA facilities can be improved. The first study aimed to determine the optimum plant spacing for romaine lettuce in terms of yield and head development. Different planting densities and patterns were tested, ranging from 388 (5.0 cm) to 32 (17.7 cm) plants per square meter. Staggered and non-staggered planting …  Read more

Chondrogenesis is critical for the healing of fractured bones. After an initial inflammation stage, a "soft callus" composed of chondrocytes bridges the injury site, to be later mineralized and substituted by bone. When studying bone healing in mice deficient for Cyp24a1, which cannot synthesize the vitamin D metabolite, 24,25(OH)2D3, a significant and reproducible impairment in callus formation is observed. We used callus tissue of Cyp24a1 knockout mice to clone Fam57b2 (Family with sequence similarity 57, member B), which encodes a transmembrane protein that specifically interacts with 24,25(OH)2D3. Previous work from our laboratory revealed 24,25(OH)2D3-dependent production of lactosylceramide (LacCer) by FAM57B2. …  Read more

Les troubles neurodéveloppementaux (TND) sont des maladies associées à des déficits la croissance, du développement et de la fonction du système nerveux. Ils affectent environ 15 % des enfants et des adolescents dans le monde, imposant un fardeau de santé substantiel aux patients et à leurs familles. Certains TND sont également des troubles sensibles au dosage, car ils nécessitent que les niveaux de protéines soient dans une plage spécifique pour maintenir l'équilibre. Les mutations du gène SETBP1 peuvent entraîner deux maladies distinctes: le syndrome de Schinzel-Giedion (SGS) et la maladie de l'haploinsuffisance de SETBP1 (SHD). Le SGS se caractérise par …  Read more

In March, 1886, many years of prospecting culminated in a rich gold strike on the farm Langlaagte, in that part of the Transvaal now known as the Witwatersrand. This farm is now part of the city of Johannesburg (see Plate 1). The gold was discovered in a conglomerate bed, later to be known as the Main Reef. As this conglomerate was traced along its outcrop, it was quickly realised that a new and important goldfield had been discovered. That this view was justified is evident from Plate l, which shows all the areas held under mining lease today in the …  Read more

The rocks studied in this thesis have been the subject of considerable discussion as to their original nature. J. D. Bateman of the Geological Survey of Canada considers that they are of igneous origin whereas others believe that they are metamorphosed sediments. It was thought that a petrographical study might provide some information that would help to decide the problem and it was with this object in view that this study was undertaken. Cree Lake, in the vicinity of which the rocks occur, is situated 2 miles North of the Sherritt-Gordon Mine, Manitoba, which lies about 20 miles east of …  Read more

Wykes, Linda J. (Supervisor1)  Read more

A seriously debilitating condition, major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common psychiatric illness (Kleine-Budde et al., 2013) said to become the foremost contributor to disease burden in high income countries like Canada by 2030 (Mathers & Loncar, 2006). Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a widely used treatment with ample support for its efficacy in treating depression. It is based on the notion that depression is maintained chiefly by dysfunctional beliefs that influence motivation, behaviour, and affect (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). As such, it is known for its abundance of goal-oriented, systematic interventions aimed at modifying everyday thoughts, …  Read more

The hepatitis B virus X gene product, HBx, is a promiscuous viral activator and it stimulates transcription of both pol II and III promoters. HBx also interacts with tumour suppressor p53 protein. In vitro transcriptional studies using the human U6 pol III promoter, showed that addition of HBx after preinitiation complex formation resulted in a 3 to 8 fold increase of transcription, whereas addition of HBx prior to preinitiation complex formation resulted in repression. The two-fold repression observed in transient transfection analysis and the activation observed in vitro was dependent on the presence of an upstream octamer element. Furthermore, the …  Read more