McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par A

Tufenkji, Nathalie (Supervisor1)  Read more

Le gain de popularité de l'informatique orienté service fait des plateformes hôtes pour ces services un élément essentiel de l'Internet. Un exemple de plateforme est le centre de traitement de l'information qui se fie à des réserves de serveur-ressource statiques. Le contrôle direct des ressources permis par ce genre de système est un avantage, mais ces systèmes peuvent difficilement gérer des charges variables. Les systèmes ”peer-to-peer” permettent de redistribuer les ressources libres parmi les ordinateurs du réseau de façon opportuniste. Ce genre de système a le potentiel de créer une plateforme extensible, facile à déployer, et abordable. Par contre, la …  Read more

Clarke, Ann (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

Patricia N Tonin (Supervisor2)  Read more

Over the years, software engineering technology has improved and advanced massively, and as such, it has greatly impacted the development cycle of systems. Some systems can now even be developed entirely with little human involvement with the help of model-driven engineering techniques. Recently, systems have become very data-centric; hence there is the need to understand if these systems can be built in a model-driven way and how data-centric approaches fit into this picture. The Models and Data (MODA) framework is a conceptual reference framework that clarifies the various roles that models and data play in software development and operation of …  Read more

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive neurological disease afflicting mostly young adults in North America, predominantly women. MS has little effect on life span but significant effect on quality of life. Despite the known benefits of exercise, evidence shows that persons with chronic disabling conditions such as MS are less physically active. Considering this, a deeper understanding of persons with MS and their exercise engagements and concerns is a crucial first step. The first part of this thesis presents existing evidence and methodological issues associated with randomized controlled trials estimating the effects of exercise interventions among persons with MS. …  Read more

Poly (ADP-ribosylation) also known as PARylation, is a protein post-translation modification that is dynamically regulated by the opposing functions of PARP 1/2 and PARG. PARylation of proteins is critical for cellular functions such as maintenance of genomic stability, transcriptional activation, and apoptosis. PARP1/2 synthesizes Poly (APD-ribose) (PAR) chains by catalyzing the transfer of ADP-ribose units from NAD+ to acceptor proteins while PARG hydrolyze PAR chains into ADP-ribose units. Accumulation of PAR signals for the recruitment of DNA repair factors to the damaged sites. Previous studies show that PARG is overexpressed in an array of cancers, and functions as an oncogene, …  Read more

Schizophrenia is a neuropsychiatric disorder that affects roughly 1% of the general population in Canada, with a yearly financial burden of nearly 2 billion dollars. Debilitating symptoms such as delusions of grandeur are frequently seen in schizophrenia, but exist to a lesser extent in the general population. These grandiose delusions might reveal a drive to play extraordinary roles. The cognitive and behavioral strategies associated with such drives may conflict with those involved in playing ordinary roles, which could contribute to the symptomatology of schizophrenia. Thus, the aim of the first study was to test if the will to play extraordinary …  Read more

This thesis tries to bring together al-Ghazali's thoughts about different aspects of education, scattered in numbers of works of different kinds and aims at presenting his educational theory in its complete picture. His life, his intellectual career, his mental crises, as well as the solution to these crises were deeply influential in the formation of his educational thought; and it appears that al-Ghazali was remarkably successful in absorbing the conflicting schools of thought of his time. The theoretical aspect of his educational thought consists of a psychology that focuses on a series of mental operations by which man attains knowledge. …  Read more

La perte de muscle squelettique se produit suite à l’immobilité ou au vieillissement ou suite à certaines maladies comme la septicémie, le syndrome pulmonaire obstructif, l’insuffisance cardiaque, le SIDA, le cancer et le diabète. La perte musculaire est causée par une diminution de la synthèse protéique et une augmentation de la dégradation. L’élévation de la protéolyse dépend de l’activation du système ubiquitine-protéasome (UPS), une voie dans laquelle des protéines sont sélectionnées, étiquetées avec l’ubiquitine et ciblées pour la dégradation. Il est important de comprendre en détail les voies moléculaires menant à l’atrophie musculaire afin de développer de nouvelles thérapies pour …  Read more

This thesis is based in part on field work carried out by the writer during the seasons of 1937 and 1938; and during a brief trip in the winter of 1939. Thirteen of the producing mines were visited. Much useful information relating to the problems dealt with has been obtained from reports by various investigators on the general geology, mineral deposits, and certain intrusive bodies or the region. [...] This thesis is an attempt to assemble, grade, correlate, and plot on a map, all the available information pertaining to faulting in Western Quebec; and, from such a compilation, to draw …  Read more

This study is concerned with the relative importance of government and private pensions in Canada. The examination of data on retirement income of older persons shows that government pension payments are their most important source of income. These figures indicate the serious limitations of private pension plans as sources of retirement income for a significant proportion of the population. These limitations are due to the nature of these plans - their lack of universality, restrictions on the vesting of benefits and the inability of plans based on savings to guarantee pensions in real terms in a economy subject to varying …  Read more

Ce mémoire de maîtrise investigue de quelles manières le festival de musique de Vancouver, Carnaval del Sol, et ses organisateurs influencent la construction d’identités latino-américaines parmi les immigrants·tes d’Amérique latine à Vancouver. Il aspire à une meilleure compréhension des processus dialogiques entre les communautés latino-américaines et non latino-américaines de Vancouver. Mettant à profit une revue exhaustive de la littérature sur la formation de l’identité, sur l’hybridité et sur le multiculturalisme – thèmes clés de cette recherche – ainsi que des méthodes ethnographiques telles que le travail de terrain, les observations des participants·tes et des entrevues avec les deux derniers directeurs …  Read more

Le but de ce projet était d'étudier le comportement de corrosion à court terme de l'alliage de magnésium WE43 nu et avec une couche de polypyrrole, dans des conditions expérimentales in vitro ressemblant à celles rencontrées dans l'environnement physiologique. Ceci a été réalisé en effectuant des expériences d'immersion de 5 jours dans un fluide corporel simulé modifié (m-SBF) ayant une composition ionique analogue à celle du plasma sanguin, au pH physiologique et à la température moyenne du corps. Les procédés d'interface tels que le transfert de charge, la diffusion et l'adsorption des espèces ont été étudiés par spectroscopie d'impédance électrochimique …  Read more

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) are one of the most lethal threats to genomic integrity. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, double-strand breaks are primarily repaired via the homologous recombination repair pathway. While the mechanisms underlying this pathway have been generally characterized, the early steps leading to commitment of DSBs to homologous recombination repair are as yet unclear. In particular, it has been shown that the exonuclease processing of DSBs is a critical step prior to strand invasion of a homologous template. Endo-exonucleases represent a class of nucleases that have been linked to recombinational repair processes in various organisms. Early on, a degradative …  Read more

Plastic wastes and climate change pose significant challenges to our generation. Addressing these environmental concerns requires transitioning to a circular bio-economy and shifting away from conventional petroleum-based polymers to highly recyclable bio-based alternatives. In this doctoral thesis, novel bio-derived and reprocessable covalent adaptable networks (CANs) were developed. In the past decade, vitrimers, specifically associative CANs, have rapidly emerged as a new class of cross-linked networks bridging the gap between classical thermosets and thermoplastics.In the first part of this doctoral work, elastomeric vitrimers were synthesized utilizing myrcene, a commercially available plant-based monoterpene. Nitroxide mediated polymerization (NMP) of myrcene with (2-acetoacetoxy)ethyl methacrylate …  Read more

Dudek, Louis (Supervisor)  Read more

Thomas, Aliki (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

The primary goal of this study was to investigate the effect of the density of positively charged groups on the binding of bile acids by poly(acrylamide) resins with amine-containing pendent groups. For this purpose, lightly cross-linked poly(methyl acrylate) beads were functionalized by the reactions with diamines using two different methods, one of which eliminated additional cross-linking during the functionalization procedure. A comparison was made between the swelling characteristics, the isotherms for the binding of cholate anions, and the degree of cooperativity of these resins. Interestingly, the elimination of additional cross-linking not only improved the capacity of the resins to bind …  Read more

Le but de cette étude était de comprendre et de modéliser les mécanismes de quatre groupes de matériaux souples auto-assemblés nano-structure, à savoir géantes micelles, faisceaux micellaires toriques, bicouches lipidiques, et des fibres de collagène. Les modèles constitutifs dérivés ici visent à élargir notre capacité à prédire la réponse des organismes biologiques sous des charges mécaniques de premiers principes, directement à partir du comportement de leurs principaux constituants microscopiques.Un cadre théorique pour l'élasticité de micelles géantes, ce qui nous permet de caractériser leur comportement mécanique, manquait dans la littérature. Un modèle a été obtenue pour la libre-énergie élastique de ces …  Read more

Les murs en maçonnerie non armée (MNA) sont très présents dans les bâtiments nord-américains. Dans plusieurs hôpitaux « pré-code » construits avant l'adoption des normes parasismiques dans les années 1970, la maçonnerie de blocs en terra cotta a été abondamment utilisée. Bien que les murs de remplissage jouent effectivement un rôle structural dans la réponse sismique des bâtiments, les murs qui servent simplement de cloisons internes sont considérés comme des composants non-structuraux et leur influence structurale est négligée dans les analyses sismiques. Les murs de remplissage en terra cotta interagissent avec leur cadre périphérique durant les séismes et augmentent la …  Read more

La plupart des codes du bâtiment récents proposent des équations empiriques pour le calcul des charges sismiques sur les éléments non-structuraux, basées sur la pratique et le jugement d'experts plutôt que l'étude objective des observations expérimentales et des analyses. Cette thèse propose une nouvelle approche de conception pour pallier ces problèmes avec une méthode qui permet de générer des spectres de réponse de planchers directement à partir des spectres uniformes d'aléas sismiques prescrits dans les codes du bâtiment. En fait, ces spectres de planchers sont les outils de base pour l'analyse sismique des éléments non-structuraux au même titre que les …  Read more

A building is composed of two main types of components: structural components (see Figure 1) and non-structural components (NSCs) also called operational and functional components (OFCs) (see Figure 2). OFCs are those components or systems housed or mounted in the buildings which are not part of the main or intended load-resisting system of the structure. Therefore, the building structure is commonly called “primary structure” or “supporting structure” and OFCs are also known by alternative names such as "non-structural elements", "building attachments", "architectural, mechanical, and electrical elements", "secondary systems", and "secondary structural elements".  Read more

An experimental investigation of the fatigue behaviour of woven flax fibre hybridized with woven glass fibre, in an epoxy matrix, is presented. Three different hybrid compositions of flax fibre with glass fibre were manufactured using vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding. The hybrid composites are all five layer symmetric laminates [0w]5. All the laminates were tested under tension-tension fatigue loading conditions. The specific stress-number of cycles to failure (S-N curves) of all hybrid configurations were generated. The results were compared in terms of fatigue life, fatigue sensitivity, modulus decay and fracture mode of each hybrid laminate at different load levels. The …  Read more

Gan-Or, Ziv (Supervisor2)  Read more

Although the single-path changepoint problem has been extensively treated in the statistical literature, the multi-path changepoint problem has been largely ignored. In the multi-path changepoint setting it is often of interest to assess the impact of covariates on the changepoint itself as well as on the parameters before and after the changepoint. This thesis is concerned with including covariates in the changepoint distribution, a topic never before addressed in the literature. The model we introduce, based on the hazard of change, enjoys features which allow one to establish asymptotic results needed for estimation and testing. Indeed, we establish consistency of …  Read more

In radiation therapy, accurate dose determination and precise dose delivery to the tumour are directly associated with better treatment outcomes in terms of higher tumour control and lower post radiation therapy complications. In the past, film dosimetry was developed into a powerful tool for external beam radiotherapy treatment verification and quality assurance. The objective of this thesis was the development and clinical application of the EBT-3GafChromicTMfilm model patient specific based quality assurance (QA) procedures in brachytherapy. The lack of clinical measurements and patient specific QA procedures (similar to that in intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) delivery) in high dose rate brachytherapy …  Read more

X-ray scattering is an ideal technique to perform measurements on the structures of materials. In the present thesis we use x-ray reflectivity (XRR) to study the structural properties of layers and multilayers. A trilayer system of CoFe-Ru-CoFe used for spin valve multilayers is investigated and the changes in structural properties induced by different procedures such as changing the Ru spacer layer, oxidation of the Ru spacer layer and annealing the sample are studied. Also, we study the electron density, thickness and optical index of refraction of samples prepared by glancing angle deposition (GLAD) method. We investigate the porosity in these …  Read more

Srivastava, Lalit K. (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Six dogs provided with Heidenhain pouches were subjected to complete antrectomy with restoration of gastrointestinal continuity by means of a Billroth I (3 dogs), or Billroth II (3 dogs) anastomosis. Post-antrectomy pouch secretion in response to a test meal verified the presence of an "intestinal phase" of gastric secretion. Serum gastrin levels did not rise significantly from basal values, in response to, the test meal in either the Billroth I or Billroth II dogs following antrectomy. However, the serum gastrin rise noted in the Billroth II dogs was very near the level of significance of 5%; whereas the rise noted …  Read more

A model study for the synthesis of the fungal metabolites phomoidride A and B is presented. Building on previous studies from our group, the carbocyclic core of these molecules was constructed using a [6+4] cycloaddition between tropone 41 and the silyl enol ether of 2-cyclopenten-1-one. Efforts to install the C-17 phomoidride sidechain on substrates derived from this carbocycle met with limited success. This led us to revise our strategy by employing the novel 5-substituted cyclopentadiene 118. In contrast to the known instability of 5 substituted cyclopentadienes towards [1,5] hydrogen shifts, the 2-silyloxy moiety of 118 imparted remarkable thermal stability on …  Read more

1. Corn starch has been separated into its two components, amylose and amylopectin by the Tanret-Pacsu procedure and the nitrates of each carefully examined by new methods, namely, (1) Fractionation by Precipitation and Dissolution Methods, (2) a Denitration procedure. The products isolated were subjected to the customary tests used for the characterization of such substances. 2. Oertain pretreatment& of the starch were shown to yield less satisfactory products than when whole starch was used, while nitration by nitric acid alone was found to give more satisfactory products in higher yield than when a "mixed acid" was used. [...]  Read more

"L'influence des enzimes endogènes dans la détérioration de la texture des produits de la mer fut étudiée, le principal but étant de développer des techniques pour contrôler la détérioration durant la conservation. L'action de la pression, du pH et de l'a2-macroglobuline, un inhibiteur de protéase à large spectre, seuls ou combinés, sur l'apparence, la texture et l'activité de protéases de muscle de poissons (cathepsine C, collagénase, enzyme de type chymotrypsine ou trypsine) fut étudiée. Pour observer ces effets sur la structure, des études en microscopie électronique furent réalisées. Les resultats indiquèrent que les effets de la pression sur l'activité enzymatique …  Read more

Barrington-Leigh, Christopher (Supervisor)  Read more

Les plateformes digitales contribuent à façonner notre compréhension de la communication publique. N’importe quelle personne avec un accès à des gadgets intelligents et une connexion internet peut désormais publier son opinion en dehors de tout media traditionnel et sans coût. Ces plateformes digitales fournissent des occasions pour le débat public, où que se trouvent les intervenants. Tout en tentant de promouvoir la liberté d’expression globalement, les plateformes digitales mettent en œuvre des mécanismes afin de rendre l’internet sécuritaire pour ses utilisateurs. Cependant, ces mécanismes de mise en œuvre demeurent largement inaccessibles au public, tout en subissant des pressions considérables de …  Read more

This work, aimed at saline water conversion, investigates the possibility of inducing evaporation in the low pressure core created at the centre of a mass of swirling water discharging through a central orifice. Navier - Stokes equations, applied to a simplified flow model, produce solutions involving an experimental "efficiency factor". Fair agreement with the experimental data is achieved by using an empirical "mixing factor" The tangential velocity increase and the corresponding static pressure decrease towards the centre of the swirl, as predicted by the ideal fluid theory, are not materialized in practice.  Read more

Few of the people who paid a tester to attend Elizabeth’s coronation in 1558 could have realized that they were entering upon one of the most glorious periods in English history, the spacious days of Queen Elizabeth. They did not know that a new era was being born - the era of the defeat of the great Armada and the force of His Most Catholic Majesty, the era of Drake on the seas, Bacon in science, Gilbert and Harvey and their discoveries, Shakespeare in the drama.  Read more

Thomas, David (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Gallouzi, Imed Eddine (Supervisor1)  Read more

To generate profit and support high volumes of traffic, IP backbone networks are required to provide efficient scalable end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) for a variety of telecommunication services. Scalability is achieved by using class-based QoS provisioning approaches such as Differentiated Services (DiffServ), while efficiency requires the appropriate use of traffic engineering mechanisms such as those provided by Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). This thesis presents a delay-margin based Traffic Engineering (TE) approach to provide end-to-end QoS in MPLS networks using DiffServ at the link level. The TE, combines mapping flows to routes, mapping routes to QoS classes, and the definition …  Read more

The proper wiring of the central nervous system is a crucial step for normal biological development. Netrin-1 belongs to a family of bifunctional guidance molecules that play a role in navigating growing axons either towards (chemoattraction) or away (chemorepulsion) from specific targets. There are four UNC5 homologues in mammals, which are related to the product of the Uncoordinated-5 gene, originally identified in the nematode worm C. elegans. These homologues bind netrin-1 and are thought to mediate chemorepulsion by forming a heterodimer with another netrin-1 receptor, DCC. It is not clear, however, whether mammalian UNC5s repel axons in an exclusively DCC-dependent …  Read more

Plusieurs mouvements islamistes armes ont donne les signes d'importants changements sur le plan du comportement et de l'ideologie en faveur de la nonviolence. Les processus de de-radicalisation de ces mouvements ont conduit au retrait de dizaines de milliers d'anciens militants des rangs des supporteurs d' Al Qaida et ont eu un effet dissuasif sur ceux qui songeaient a se joindre a eux. Ces processus ont eu lieu a grande echelle en Egypte et en Algerie et a plus petite echelle en Libye, en Arabie Saoudite, au Yemen, en Jordanie, au Tadjikistan, en Malaisie et en Indonesie. Cette these porte sur …  Read more

Dans l’ère qui a suivi la Seconde Guerre mondiale, l’ordre économique mondial a été façonné par un modèle keynésien centré sur l’État, fondé sur des politiques libérales qui ont favorisé l’intégration des individus et des entités dans l’économie mondiale. Ce paradigme a fini par céder la place, dans les années 1970, à une économie politique néolibérale axée sur le marché, laquelle a facilité l’expansion sans entrave des entreprises privées dans la sphère transnationale. Au cours des dernières décennies, l’implication croissante des acteurs privés transnationaux dans l’économie mondiale – en tant que principale composante du libre marché néolibéral – a attiré …  Read more

Economic sanctions have become a favorite instrument of foreign policy to bring about a change in political behavior or status quo of sanctioned states. However, the cost of sanctions on global trade, targets’ economies, and especially civilians of designated repressive sanctions has caused scholars of different disciplines to evaluate this instrument through an academic perspective. Among them, legal scholars have tried to examine the legitimacy and legality of such coercive measures imposed in the international arena in order to demonstrate sanctions’ boundaries within the framework of public international law. When sanctions are determined to be illegitimate or illegal under public …  Read more