McGill University Theses and dissertations by author name (F)

Transcription in mammalian and yeast mitochondria proceeds from a few well defined promoters, with processing of polycistronic transcripts producing the mature RNAs. The levels of different sequences in the steady-state RNA populations depend on differential promoter strengths, transcription attenuation and/or selective termination, and differential RNA stabilities. To gain insights into the processes governing transcription and RNA levels in plant mitochondria, a system using isolated maize mitochondria, which synthesize bona fide mitochondrial RNAs, was developed and partially characterized with respect to exogenous requirements and sensitivity to inhibitors of DNA-dependent RNA synthesis. Although initiation and processing probably occur at reduced levels in …  Read more

Communities in the Canadian North face many challenges in accessing traditional and market foods. These challenges are attributed to a complex combination of factors including social, economic and environmental shifts, colonial legacies, and the remote geography of communities. Despite these challenges, communities across the North are resilient in maintaining food as a core element of their culture and identity. It is therefore essential to search beyond generalized experiences, to gain a contextual understanding of communities and the intricacies of their local food systems. This thesis adopts such an approach in characterizing the food system of Rigolet, Nunatsiavut. Conducted in partnership …  Read more

Tait, J. (Supervisors)  Read more

La mémoire fournie un répertoire d'expériences passées qui peut aider un organisme à prédire des événements futurs, et par conséquent guider son comportement. Afin de demeurer précis, les souvenirs doivent pouvoir s'adapter aux changements de l'environnement, toutefois, ceux qui sont critiques à la survie d'un organisme ne devraient pas être facilement remplacés par des événements anormaux. Donc, la représentation neuronale qui encode chaque trace d'un souvenir exige probablement un fin équilibre entre la stabilité et la malléabilité. La reconsolidation de la mémoire est un processus par lequel les altérations des connectivités neuronales précédemment stabilisées (qui maintiennent la mémoire) peuvent être …  Read more

With an increase in the aging population, research has attempted to elucidate factors that determine the heterogeneity observed in cognitive function within the older adult population. Studies have shown that elevated levels of glucocorticoids (GC) in serum and saliva are related to poorer cognitive performance in old age. However, individual differences are also noted in GC secretion, which gives rise to the question of what determines individual differences not only in cognitive function, but also in GC secretion in old age. While many researchers have turned to personality as an individual difference factor, the present thesis wanted to assess an …  Read more

Stifani, Stefano (Supervisor2)  Read more

Myb-like SWIRM and MPN Domains 1 (MYSM1) is a chromatin-binding histone H2A lysine 119 (H2AK119ub) deubiquitinase that is essential for normal hematopoiesis in both mice and humans. Mysm1-knockout mice exhibit severe hematopoietic defects attributed to p53 activation, including loss of function of hematopoietic stem cells, apoptosis of hematopoietic progenitors, and impaired production of multiple downstream cell types. Although MYSM1 was reported to regulate some genes required for normal progression of hematopoiesis, no genome-wide analyses have been published to date. RNA-seq analyses conducted in our lab revealed that ribosomal protein coding genes (RP genes) are significantly downregulated in primary MYSM1-deficient hematopoietic …  Read more

This study looks at a growing trend in literature: memoirs written by women from Islamic countries. It will deal specifically with the cultural significance of these books in North American culture with special consideration of how the Muslim religion is depicted and therefore relayed to the North American audience. Finally, this paper will look at how these memoirs, and other texts like them, can be used in the classroom to teach against Islamophobia.  Read more

We investigate a variety of questions in the theory of Shimura varieties of orthogonal type. Firstly we provide a general introduction in the theory of these spaces. Secondly, motivated by the problem of understanding the special points on Shimura varieties of orthogonal type we give a characterization of the maximal algebraic tori contained in orthogonal groups over an arbitrary number field. Finally, motivated by the problem of computing dimension formulas for spaces of modular forms, we compute local representation densities of lattices focusing specifically on those arising from Hermitian forms by transfer.  Read more

La théorie de la multiplication complexe nous donnent des outils puissants pour étudier des aspects divers des formes modulaires classiques, ainsi que leurs généralisations. Les travaux récents de Borcherds donne une nouvelle motivation pour étudier les formes modulaires sur des groupes orthogonaux de signature (2,n), ainsi que les espaces sur lesquels elles agissent. Dans cette thèse, nous étudierons les points spéciaux (ou points-CM) qui existent dans ces espaces. Nous développerons des classifications cohomologiques concernant les points spéciaux, les corps-CM associés et les espaces dans lesquels ces points peuvent être trouvées.  Read more

Le système des polyamines joue un rôle essentiel dans une myriade de fonctions cellulaires, et la dysrégulation du métabolisme et du fonctionnement des polyamines ont été impliqué dans quelques conditions pathologiques, incluant les troubles neurologiques et psychiatriques. Durant les dernières années, des études investiguant l'expression des gènes et les associations génétiques ont apporté des preuves convaincantes impliquant le système des polyamines dans le suicide. Ces études, par contre, n'indiquaient pas à quel point le métabolisme des polyamines est affecté dans les cerveaux de suicidés, ni si des mécanismes similaires sont impliqués dans d'autres conditions psychiatriques, et ne traitaient pas des …  Read more

The Federal Government, in the exercise of its exclusive constitutional jurisdiction over aeronautics, has adopted laws and regulations that address the various aspects of the aviation system. These laws and regulations have evolved significantly from the first piece of Federal legislation passed in 1919. Some of those laws and regulations have as their objective achieving and maintaining an adequate level of aviation safety, while others are intended to ensure that Canadians have access to an efficient and reliable national air transportation system. On the safety side, there are laws and regulations that establish standards of quality for the aircraft, standards …  Read more

In recent decades, the global spread of the aquatic chytrid fungi Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans has led to an amphibian mass extinction. Amphibian infection with these organisms begins when motile chytrid zoospores adhere to the amphibian epidermis before maturing into sessile zoosporangia that disrupt epithelium integrity, ultimately leading to amphibian death. A new generation of zoospores, produced within zoosporangia, are released through discharge tubes at the zoosporangium surface to begin the cycle anew. Interrupting zoospore release could therefore be an attractive strategy to break the infection cycle. Fungal cell walls mediate many essential processes, including maintaining cell integrity and …  Read more

This study is an attempt to use the method of historical analysis to answer the question: "Is Government intervention in the economic sphere to become a permanent feature of our everyday life or will it be only a bridge which is going to lead us to a better and more harmonious economy in a free world?" The thesis consists of four parts: Part I deals with the general aspects of the problem. The views of twelve economists are analyzed and the principles underlying the problem methodically examined. The period of transition from feudal to capitalist economy, the growth of the …  Read more

Plasticizers are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. Biodegradation of some of these chemicals, such as di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP or DOP), has been shown to lead to the accumulation of toxic metabolic breakdown products. As a result there is a desire to produce new, fully biodegradable, "green" plasticizers. With this goal in mind, a series of tests were developed to be used to measure the plasticizing efficiency of potential green plasticizers. The base resin selected for the study was poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the plasticized polymer was measured by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC). Tensile tests were carried …  Read more

Little need be said here concerning the common brown rat Rattus norvegicus. since its economic importance is so widely understood. They have, due to their migratory and prolific breeding habits, invaded and colonised all lands throughout practically the entire world. However, financial losses occasioned by these rats is relatively insignificant when the risk of disease due to their presence is considered. Plague, Rat-bite Fever, Spirochaetal Diseases, Equine Influenza, Foot-and-mouth Disease, together with various helminths and perhaps Entamoeba histolytica, are all known to be disseminated by rats. With regard to the helminths, it may act as an intermediate host for cestodes …  Read more

Dans cette thèse, la théorie du jeux majeur mineur à champ moyen linéaire-quadratique-Gaussienne (MM LQG MFG) est étendue dans trois directions principales qui sont motivées par des problèmes d'exécution optimaux en finance. Dans les applications financières, le marché est étudié comme un jeu non coopératif à forte population. Nous considérons le cas où il existe un investisseur institutionnel (interprété comme un agent majeur) avec un grand nombre de traders à haute fréquence (interprété comme des agents mineurs) constituant deux sous-populations de liquidateurs et d'acquéreurs. En général, les traders sont couplés dans leur dynamique et leurs fonctions de coût au taux …  Read more

Visualization and quantitative oxidation kinetic experiments on 100 g samples of Pb-As at 600°C; thermal analysis and phase-equilibrium measurements of Pb-PbO-As2O3 samples under argon over the temperature range of 420°C to 875°C; computational thermodynamic solution modeling; and phase diagram and equilibrium calculations using FACTSage(TM) were performed to elaborate the poorly documented thermodynamics of the slags in the lead softening stage in the pyrometallurgical refining of lead. In the softening stage, the minor element impurities: arsenic, antimony and tin are removed from lead bullion by oxidation and are transferred to a skimmable oxide slag phase. It was found that optimizing an …  Read more

In everyday activity we interact with objects and need to learn how to stabilize our limbs and apply appropriate forces. During learning the central nervous system adapts to the dynamics of the limb and the environment by means of formation of an accurate internal model. In the early stages of learning in the presence of novel force fields muscle cocontraction increases. Thoroughman and Shadmehr (1999) have described cocontraction as a wasted contraction. However, Franklin et al. (2003) have shown that the increase in muscle cocontraction has an important role in learning to stabilize the limb and offset the effect of …  Read more

Cline, J. M. (Supervisor)  Read more

Mintzberg, H. (Supervisor)  Read more

A diffusion cloud chamber and its ancillary equipment were constructed and used to investigate the energy spectrum of fast neutrons produced by bombarding deuterium in the chamber with 85 Mev protons. Reasons are adduced to show that these fast neutrons are the result of an exchange collision caused by a Heisenberg type of force in which the spins of the nucleons are also exchanged. There is, however, disagreement with the calculations of Gluckstern and Bethe, who predicted a much narrower energy spectrum for the fast neutrons than we found by experiment. We suggest reasons for the discrepancy.  Read more

Foster, Bethany Joy (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

Le domaine des sciences humaines médicales explore les liens entre les représentations de la maladie dans l'art et les soins de santé. L'essai de Virginia Woolf, «On Being Ill», paru en 1926, a été fréquemment analysé dans les articles appartenant au domaine des sciences humaines médicales en raison de ses thèses sur la nature de l'écriture sur la maladie et sur la façon dont la maladie modifie les perceptions du patient, y compris celle du temps. Le roman de Mary Renault, « The Charioteer », paru en 1953, met également en avant le décalage temporel vécu par son protagoniste hospitalisée …  Read more

Goldsmith-Reber, Trudis E. (Supervisor)  Read more

Daily 1200 UTC sea-level pressure, 850-hPa height and temperature, and 500-hPa height fields are used in a compositing analysis to document the synoptic evolution of wintertime precipitation events over Montreal. Since there has been a bias in past studies towards analyzing extreme events, four precipitation intensity categories are defined. A summary of the findings are as follows: (i) Heavier precipitation events are associated with a ridge-trough couplet as opposed to a trough for lighter events. The magnitude of the downstream ridge is influenced by the strength of warm advection at the 850-hPa level. (ii) Differences in the intensity of precipitation …  Read more

This thesis proposes an original framework for the analysis of third world informal finance. It will be supported by a comprehensive survey of the associated literature. Specifically, most mainstream interpretations of informal finance adhere to a dualist paradigm that revolves around three key assumptions. First that informal firms are less efficient than formal firms in conducting financial transactions, second that their activities are protected from formal competition due to segmented financial markets, and finally that the economic impact of informal finance is inferior to an overall formal system. Yet much of the qualitative evidence of informal finance contradict these assumptions …  Read more

Pendant quelques années, lorsque j'ai commencé à travailler dans un CEGEP, je me suis senti étouffé dans ma pratique d'enseignement. Puis, grâce à une convergence d'événements, une collègue et moi avons conçu une approche créative à l'enseignement de notre cours « Anglais à des fins spécifiques », ce qui a permis de développer un apprentissage plus approfondi et plus intégré chez nos étudiants. La modélisation et la promotion de la créativité ont revitalisé mon enseignement, mais j'étais curieux de savoir si ce type d'innovation était durable. Les enseignants du postsecondaire pourraient-ils réinvestir continuellement dans des processus créatifs au cours d'une …  Read more

This thesis is concerned with a descriptive study and an analysis of the integration of 40 refugee youths into the Montreal community during the years 1947 to 1952. It describes the purposes and the goals of the Jewish community in planning the settlement program for this group. It seeks to describe the kinds of services and resources made available to this group. It asks: "How did the refugee youths respond to and make use of these resources?” Agency records on the refugee youths were the main sources of data. The study opens with a brief history of the Refugee Youth …  Read more

This thesis is concerned with a descriptive study and an analysis of the integration of 40 refugee youths into the Montreal community during the years 1947 to 1952. It describes the purpose and goals of the Jewish community in planning the program for this group. It seeks to determine the kind of services and resources made available to this group. It asks: how did the refugee youths respond to and use these resources? In the early development of our society, individuals and private groups assumed the responsibility of caring for the less fortunate members of their community. Out of this …  Read more

La borne SCHOK offre un contrôle sur le nombre d'opérateurs marginaux de certaines théories conformes des champs bidimensionnelles en termes des opérateurs pertinents suffisamment légers. Lorsqu'interprété dans le contexte de la théorie des cordes, ce résultat suggère une avenue qui pourrait permettre de borner supérieurement le nombre de Hodge total h11+h21 uniformément sur les types topologiques de 3-variétés compactes de Calabi-Yau. Une telle borne serait significative en physique, car elle suggèrerait la finitude de la collection des vides de la théorie des cordes. Il est soutenu que l'existence d'une borne sur la trace du noyau de chaleur scalaire sur les …  Read more

The prevalence of allergic diseases is increasing worldwide for unclear reasons. This sudden widespread increase, particularly in children, suggests causes that are not due to genetic makeup of individuals, but rather a change in environment and lifestyle factors. Growing epidemiological and immunological evidence supports the hygiene hypothesis, which states that decreased exposure to immune stimulatinginfections in early childhood is the cause of the rise in allergic diseases. Studies have shown that even bacterial components such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can have a protective effect. The receptor for LPS is Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), an innate immunological receptor, which may play an …  Read more

This paper is a report of the planktonic Copepod material collected from Barbados, British West Indies, during 1956-1958. Only free-living and semi-parasitic copepods have been included. Wickstead (1956) has made a collection of copepods from the Barbados area consisting of 196 hauls over a period of two months, March and April. No previous study has attempted a collection of at least one year, or a plot of the population increase and decrease during the year, although considerable importance is attached to the decrease accompanying the hurricane season, which begins in July and continues until October.  Read more

This dissertation examines the images and reality of fatherhood, between 1870 and 1914, using a case study of Montreal's middle class, and specifically the English speaking, Protestant community. An examination of reform literature, custody decisions, and fiction suggest that providing for his family's material needs was a father's first duty. Fatherhood was also invested with authority and power. Yet, the sentimental family ideal entrusted the mother with the emotional elements of child-rearing. Many fathers appear to have created nurturing relationships with their children, despite the emotionally restrictive social images, and society's emphasis on the importance of motherhood.  Read more

Cette thèse avance que la représentation shakespearienne permet une récupération signifiante de la notion dénigrante d'oisiveté, telle qu'elle a été comprise au début des temps modernes et dans le contexte contemporain. Ce projet s'inspire des théories du temps queer afin d'explorer comment l'oisiveté shakespearienne conteste la reproduction bourgeoise, la longévité, le progrès et la productivité linéaires en forgeant les vibrants chemins d'un mouvement non-reproducteur qui est affectif, imaginatif et désireux. Ceci donne lieu à une manière d'envisager l'oisiveté comme une force temporelle queer incarnée dans le temps théâtral, ainsi qu'à une nouvelle compréhension du caractère queer de la représentation shakespearienne. …  Read more

La combustion du carburant d'aviation, connu sous le nom de Jet A, dans les turbines à gaz aro-drives est un processus complexe qui n'est pas entièrement compris. Bien que de nombreuse études on été faites pour produire des modèles num ́eriques et chimiques du Jet A, l'absence de consensus dans la littérature montre qu'il reste encore du travail. Ce travail est une étude de trois substances pures, qui sont représentatifs de la composition chimique qui constituent les carburants d'aviation. Le n-décane représente les alcanes présents dans le Jet A, le méthylcyclohexane les hydrocarbures cycliques, et le toluène les aromatiques. Les …  Read more

A number of separate circuit problems in radio engineering are discussed, the problems being linked by the fact that they all involve non-linear impedance relations in vacuum tubes. There is also a general discussion given on non-linearity, and a critical bibliography. Among the topics discussed are: automatic volume control in radio receivers; some original work leading to a vacuum tube wattmeter; original analysis dealing with a heterodyne detector; a constant impedance circuit primarily intended to meet the problems of coupling a pentode tube to a loudspeaker; and some original work on an amplifier involving de-generation to meet the same problem. …  Read more

The harp seal, Phoca groenlandica, ranges from the eastern Canadian coast and Arctic eastward to Novaya Zemlya and adjacent Soviet areas. Within this range it is divided into three major breeding populations which can be referred to as the Eastern, breeding in the White Sea, the Central, breeding in the Jan Mayen area, and the Western, breeding off the northeast coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Fig. 1). The species is strongly migratory and occupies the southern area of pack-ice for breeding in the spring, between late February and the end of April.  Read more

Several new compounds have been synthesized, including 3-hydroxyl-1 ( 3,4 dimethoxyphenyl) -2-propanone; 1-brom-1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-2-propanone and 3-hydroxyl-1-(4-benzoyl-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-propanone. [...]  Read more

The static mechanical properties of the respiratory system have been studied in newborn mammals (body size from rat to pig) and in animals (rats and rabbits) during growth. The elastic recoil pressure at functional residual capacity of the newborn is less than the adult value. The dry lung weight (LW)/body weight (BW) ratio is larger in the newborns (NB) than the adults (A). Functional residual capacity (FRC) is directly related to BW in the newborn. In general the FRC/BW ratio decreases with age while the FRC/LW increases. Respiratory system, lung and chest wall compliance are interspecific constants among newborn mammals. …  Read more

Hibbert, H. (Supervisor)  Read more

The possible involvement of spinal metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) were examined in animal models of persistent and chronic pain. In Study 1, it was shown that spinal administration of relatively selective group I mGluR antagonists, or a selective group III mGluR agonist, but not a non-selective mGluR antagonist, slightly, but significantly reduced nociceptive scores in the rat formalin test Also, spinal administration of a non-selective mGluR agonist, or a selective group I mGluR agonist, but not a relatively selective group II agonist, enhanced formalin-induced nociception. The pro-nociceptive effects of these agents were reversed by a non-selective mGluR antagonist or by …  Read more