McGill University Theses and dissertations by author name (F)

Mg2+ is a biologically important cation required for over 600 enzymatic processes, ranging from energy metabolism to cell cycle regulation. Mg2+ homeostasis is mediated through the action of various ion transporters. CNNMs (CBS domain metal ion transport mediators) are integral membrane proteins that mediate metal ion (e.g. Mg2+) homeostasis in organisms from bacteria to humans. The structure of the CNNMs consists of a conserved transmembrane domain (DUF21) and regulatory cytosolic cystathionine-beta-synthase (CBS-pair or Bateman) domain. Eukaryotic CNNMs, in particular, contain an additional extracellular domain, and a putative C-terminal cyclic nucleotide binding homology (CNBH) domain. While these proteins appear to control …  Read more

The regulation of eukaryotic gene expression is a highly coordinated, multi-layered program that dictates cellular function. A fundamental aspect of this program encompasses processes that regulate protein synthesis after a messenger RNA (mRNA) is transcribed from its DNA template and is referred to as post-transcriptional control. Specifically, mRNAs can be regulated at the level of stability, translational efficiency and cellular localization. Almost all eukaryotic mRNAs possess a 5’ cap and a 3’ polyadenylated (poly(A)) tail, and these structural elements have broad implications in mRNA control. The presence of the 5’ cap and 3’ poly(A) tail act to enhance mRNA translation …  Read more

Information security breaches represent a growing but not unforeseen pandemic. Indeed, the breaches have existed as long as companies have been known. As employees generated, processed, and stored confidential information, breaches occurred. With the storage of private records in a digitized format, security breaches have represented an increasing concern for organizations. However, it was only in the early 2000s that the public started to gain adequate awareness of data breaches and their potential impacts. Despite the ever-growing awareness, statistics show that breaches have become more frequent and impactful. Unfortunately, projections of data breaches indicate that the numbers will continue to …  Read more

This thesis seeks to describe the lineaments of self-writing in Blaise Cendrars’s Le Lotissement du ciel (1949). This text is largely disconcerting due to its ambiguity regarding literary genres and its apparent lack of unity. Rendering uncertain the borders between fiction and autobiography, accordingly to the author’s injunction to reinvent its life through writing, this work also contains a series of fragments seemingly irrelevant to self-writing – hagiography, compilation, encyclopedic notations – whose relations with autobiography are note given immediately. Blurring the borders between fiction and autobiography, in accordance with the author’s injunction to reinvent his life through writing, this …  Read more

L'effet de diverses déficiences nutritives sur l'activité in vitro de la tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH) dans trois tissus de rat fut étudié. Au niveau des surrénales, un jeûne complet a causé une élévation soudaine de l'activité de la TH, mais seulement après une perte de poids supérieure à 30%. Une diète déficiente en fer (3-1/2-5 semaines), sans altérer de façon significative la concentration du fer dans les surrénales elles-mêmes, y a quand même entrainé une augmentation de l'activité de la TH. Entre le 12e et le 18e jour, une diète déficiente en cuivre a d'abord causé une diminution simultanée des concentrations tant …  Read more

Le taux de réchauffement de l'Arctique est deux à trois fois plus rapide que la moyenne mondiale, ce qui entraîne une cascade d'impacts sur les écosystèmes marins arctiques. Ces écosystèmes marins en mutation peuvent, à leur tour, modifier l'offre de services écosystémiques (SÉ, soit les avantages tirés des écosystèmes) qui sont vitaux pour les communautés côtières du Nord circumpolaire. Les communautés autochtones et locales de l'Arctique sont donc confrontées à un environnement en mutation qui affecte leurs modes de vie et leur bien-être. Pour comprendre l'impact du changement climatique et des autres pressions anthropiques sur les écosystèmes marins arctiques, les …  Read more

En 2000, l'Organisation internationale des Nations Unies (ONU) fut l'hôte d'un sommet international afin de fixer leurs principaux buts et objectifs. De ce sommet sont nés les objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement (OMD), un ensemble de huit objectifs qui abordent des problèmes sociaux importants dans le monde. Les Nations Unies ont reconnu les possibilités du sport et de l'activité physique en tant qu'OMD de l'ONU. Les évidences empiriques ont démontré d'une part que le sport est un outil puissant qui peut encourager le développement d'habiletés de vie chez les jeunes athlètes et d'autre part que les entraîneurs jouent un …  Read more

Le coaching humaniste est une philosophie centrée sur le développement personnel de l'athlète en favorisant la faculté de prise de décision et les relations interpersonnelles entre l'entraîneur et l'athlète (Lombardo, 1987 ; Lyle, 2002). En dépit des efforts pour décrire et définir le coaching humaniste, peu d'études ont empiriquement examinées comment les entraîneurs appliquent ses principes dans le sport, comment ses principes impactent les jeunes athlètes, et les perceptions des individus concernés. Ainsi, le but de cette dissertation fut de développer et délivrer un atelier sur le coaching humaniste tout en examinant l'apprentissage des entraîneurs, et l'impact du coaching humaniste …  Read more

Previous studies of modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS), and detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of metal-plate/film portal detectors have been performed on limited combinations of front and back metal-plates. We report on these parameters for an extensive set of forty-nine front-back metal-plate combinations. The portal detector consists of a double emulsion RP (Kodak localization therapy) film placed between metal-plates: Al, Cu, brass and Pb of thicknesses varying from 0.30 to 4.80 mm. Radiation sources included a Theratron Co-60 unit, and a Varian Clinac-18 linear accelerator delivering a polyenergetic 10 MV X-ray spectrum. In terms of the absolute efficiency …  Read more

Measurements of modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS), and detective quantum efficiency (DQE) for metal/film portal detectors are reported for the Cobalt-60 and 10 MV spectra. The detectors consist of a double-emulsion portal film secured between plates of aluminum, copper, brass or lead with thicknesses from 0 to 4.81 mm. The study of MTF, NPS, and DQE shows that both photons and secondary electrons produced within the front-plate and backscattered electrons from the back-plate affect metal/film portal imaging. Study of DQE indicates that the best portal detectors are those without back-plates, and with high density front-plates with thicknesses …  Read more

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from a gynecological malignancy in North America. It is an incomplete understanding of the early molecular events in ovarian carcinogenesis which limit our ability to diagnose and effectively treat this disease at a stage when it is still curable. The Wnt/beta-catenin canonical signaling pathway is involved in development, wound repair, and tumorigenesis. Studies examining the involvement of Wnt/canonical signaling in ovarian carcinogenesis, however, have only recently begun to emerge. In this study, we hypothesize that ovarian cancer cells exhibit aberrations in Wnt/canonical signaling, which may cause and/or effect ovarian tumorigenesis. Our objectives …  Read more

During a study of the degradative action of pyridine on cellulose trinitrate, G.H. Segall discovered that a solution of hydroxylamine in pyridine removed one nitrate group per anhydroglucose unit from the trinitrate. The selectivity of this reaction was demonstrated, and a possible specificity for one of the two secondary nitrate groups in the anhydroglucose units was suggested. The unusual stability of Segall's "dinitrate" to alkalies permitted methylation to a "mono-0-methyl dinitrate" with dimethyl sulphate and sodium hydroxide.  Read more

Pendant des décennies, la mesure de la santé auto-évaluée a été une caractéristique des enquêtes sur la santé de la population. Cet indicateur a été démontré comme un prédicteur robuste de la mortalité, dépassant souvent le pouvoir prédictif des facteurs médicaux dits plus « objectifs ». Toutefois, la polémique persiste quant à la comparabilité de cet indicateur entre des groupes sociaux, pour qui le pouvoir prédictif de la santé auto-évaluée semble varier. Plutôt que d'assumer que cette variation démontre le manque de validité de l'indicateur, cette thèse prend pour point de départ une théorie avancée quant aux processus cognitifs sous-tendant …  Read more

Douglas, Arnold, (Supervisor1)  Read more

Dans un premier temps, le volet critique de ce mémoire propose une lecture du recueil Chien de fusil d’Alexie Morin, en y intégrant les apports théoriques des géographies littéraires comme angle de lecture. La forme fragmentaire du recueil et son échange constant entre prose et versification permettent au texte d’être lu et perçu comme un territoire étrange, une forêt obscure où plusieurs pièges sont tendus; un paysage complexe où règne le silence. Le deuxième volet de ce mémoire est un texte de création intitulé Les Éboulements, également construit par fragments, où la narration est partagée entre Béatrice et son chien …  Read more

From Maître chez nous to Pour le Québec, from Jean Lesage to Jean Charest, the Quebec liberal party (QLP) has evolved through decades adapting itself vis-à-vis its opponents to better face them in partisan bull ring. The liberal electoral clientele might have also changed through time. Lemieux, in 1993, has analyzed the QLP as being one of the strongest party of the twentieth century while generating the parties that will compete against it from dissident fringes. How did the liberal supports have evolved between 1960 and 2012 while the party is still occupying an important place in the party system? …  Read more

L'émergence du pluralisme comme sujet théologique offre l'opportunité pour une réévaluation de 'état des prétentions a la vérité théologique. Quelques théologiens suggèrent que le procès de vérification sait modifie afin qu'on se rende plus compte des circonstances pratiques sous lesquels ces prétentions à la vérité sant réclamées. L'œuvre de Ernst Troeltsch offre une structure théorétique dans laquelle cette notion peut être expliquée. Malgré la coexistence dans son œuvre des éléments critiques et pratiques, le subjectivisme épistémologique de Troeltsch empêche la formation d'une théorie sociale de la vérité. Donnée la critique du subjectivisme épistémologique des membres de l'école de Frankfurt, Jürgen …  Read more

When the importance of the hormones of the adrenal cortex under conditions of stress had been established, the value of the hormones for the treatment of the injured and fatigued was recognized. The only hormone of the adrenal cortex, which is commercially available for therapeutic application, desoxycorticosterone acetate, however, has been found unsatisfactory.[...]  Read more

Ferguson, G.A. (Supervisor)  Read more

In this thesis, I analyze literary histories published between 1845 and 1914 to demonstrate a pattern of reception regarding the works of Bettine von Arnim. I will ask how this writer was able to express her radical social-political attitude in writing--relatively unscathed by the repressions of restoration. It will be apparent that a female political author, considered less of a risk to society, faced fewer dangers of censorship than her male counterparts. At the same time, 19th century definitions of Bourgeois women's behavior also served to marginalize her work. She was called a "child" not to be taken seriously, placed …  Read more

This is an examination of the position of Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg (1633--1694) with regard to contemporary societal gender-paradigms, which were the conditions under which she produced her literary work; these same conditions are also reflected in her texts. The first chapter includes a methodological discussion and establishes the importance of applying a socio-historical approach in order to better understand the situation of women in the Baroque period, and of Greiffenberg in particular, in order to answer the question, how it was possible for the author to write and publish at a time that generally excluded women from such activities. …  Read more

This thesis is an attempt at an analysis of Andrzej Wajda's political films, Man of Marble, Man of Iron and Danton in a broad cultural and historical context. The manuscript is divided into five chapters. The first chapter, "The Political Film of Andrzej Wajda--Issues of Methodology", presents a theoretical basis for the discussion of political film. Bakhtin's dialogism complemented by linguistic pragmatics provides the methodology used in the thesis to illustrate the dialogical process of meaning formation in political films of Andrzej Wajda. Chapter two discusses Wajda as the carrier of the political message, while chapters three, four and five, …  Read more

André, McDonald, (Supervisor2)  Read more

Le paludisme est une maladie très répandue et présente dans les régions tropicales et subtropicales. La majorité des cas surviennent chez les enfants âgés de moins de cinq ans. Des efforts ont été mis en place pour contrôler la propagation de cette maladie mortelle. Cependant, la résistance aux médicaments joue encore un rôle majeur dans l'échec du traitement. Le paludisme est connu comme étant causé par la transmission d'un agent pathogène, à partir de la salive d'un moustique anopheles femelle infecté, à l'hôte pendant le repas de sang. Durant l'élimination du paludisme, les efforts se sont concentrer sur le vecteur …  Read more

La chondrodysplasie ponctuée type rhizomélique (RCDP) est un groupe hétérogène de troubles peroxysomaux d’origine génétiques résultant d’anomalies dans la biosynthèse du plasmalogène (PL). La RCDP est principalement causée par une altération du système d'importation spécifique du PTS2 (PEX7 et PEX5) qui entraîne une carence en AGPS, une enzyme peroxysomale clé dans la voie de biosynthèse du PL. Plus rarement, la RCDP peut provenir d’anomalies des autres enzymes peroxysomales nécessaires à la synthèse du PL (GNPAT, AGPS, FAR1). La carence en PL est caractéristique de la pathologie de la RCDP et le degré de gravité de cette maladie peut être déterminé …  Read more

Pyrolysis and steam gasification of dry kraft black liquor solids were investigated in a fluidized-bed between 500$ sp circ$C and 700$ sp circ$C. Total mass balances were obtained for carbon, sodium, and sulphur in the solid char and gaseous products. Above 600$ sp circ$C, the addition of steam resulted in significant increases in CO$ sb2$ and H$ sb2$, and a decrease in CO; however, the production of CH$ sb4$ was unaffected. The global gasification rate of carbon increased fourfold from 0.003 min$ sp{-1}$ at 600$ sp circ$C to 0.013 min$ sp{-1}$ at 650$ sp circ$C. It is proposed that the …  Read more

[...] Disraeli's fiction is of interest to few people to-day. He is read only by those ·who wish to study him. as a literary figure, by thosewho wish to study his Tory democracy as propounded in the novel form, and lastly by those few who enjoy the novels for the intrinsic merits theypossess. Despite their brilliance, the novels are essentially political or social, and the average reader of today refuses to accept politicaldissertations and detailed information of the Parliamentary history of the mid-nineteenth century as essential elements of fiction. Disraeli,amid the spectacle of mid nineteenth century naturalism, is an imperfect …  Read more

This is a theoretical and empirical study. Its purpose is to discuss the problems of capital accumulation and allocation in a specific set-up of that type of a socialist economy which the communists have created in the countries in which they rule. Although China and other Asiatic communist countries are not discussed, it seems that the majority of characteristic features of the system exist in those countries as well. The term "communist system" is accepted here to cover not the theoretical ideal, but the system actually existing in real life, at the present time.  Read more

From its beginnings, and by its very nature, civil aviation has been interrelated with fundamental issues of national concern and with international relations of States in general. Hence, a study of the evolution of Germany's international civil aviation policies presupposes a thorough understanding of the basic interests nations have in the operations of international airlines. [...]  Read more

This study investigates the role of substance P and NK-1 receptors in an animal model of neuropathic pain. Unlike naive animals, innocuous peripheral stimulation of neuropathic animals was determined to cause heterosegmental inhibition in the tail-flick test as well as increased plasma extravasation in the paw. These effects were prevented by administration of CP-96,345 before stimulation. Additionally, CP-96,345 or an antisense oligonucleotide against NK-1 receptors significantly alleviated mechanical allodynia in neuropathic animals. Finally, mass spectrum of lumbar spinal cord of neuropathic but not naIve animals showed a significant upregulation of substance P. We conclude that innocuous stimulation of a neuropathic …  Read more

Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome is a form of child abuse whereby parents induce symptoms of real illness, or falsely report symptoms, to initiate medical treatment for their children. Following a review of the literature with respect to case management, the author presents for study a case followed from initial suspicion to resolution two years later. The management of this case is compared to what the literature would suggest is the ideal practice. Areas of weakness are found to be the average social worker's lack of knowledge about the syndrome, due to its rarity, agency unpreparedness to deal with a case, …  Read more

The charging characteristics of ionographic latent images are discussed in terms of saturation characteristics of ionographic chambers. Latent images are essentially foil électrets with surface charge densities proportional to the x-ray transmission through the object. A hyperbolic expression is developed which accurately describes the full saturation curve for x-rays and cobalt-60 gamma rays of parallel-plate ionization chambers filled with air, or with high atomic number gases at elevated pressures. Foil électrets with surface charge densities of up to 10-6 C/cm2 and ionographic latent images are formed by blocking the collecting electrode of the chamber with a polymer. The hyperbolic expression …  Read more

Le régulon de dormance (DosR) de Mycobacterium tuberculosis est normalement induit en réponse à l'hypoxie ou à l'oxide nitrique (NO). Étonnament, parmi les souches bactériennes de la lignée Beijing, le régulon DosR est surexprimé même en l'absence de stimulus (72). L'expression du régulon DosR est contrôlée par le système à deux composantes DosR/DosS/DosT. L'analyse d'isolats des lignées Beijing (n=26) ou non-Beijing (n=50) a révélé une mutation décalant le cadre de lecture du gène dosT parmi les lignées Beijing les plus récentes (sous-lignées 2 à 5). La présence de cette mutation est positivement corrélée avec le niveau d'expression du gène dosR …  Read more

The RCS 2319+00 supercluster is a massive supercluster at z = 0.9 comprising three optically selected, spectroscopically confirmed clusters separated by < 3 Mpc on the plane of the sky. This supercluster is one of a few known examples of the progenitors of present-day massive clusters (10^15 solar masses by z ∼ 0.5). RCS 2319+00 therefore allows us to witness the hierarchical buildup of large-scale structure in the Universe.We present an extensive multiwavelength study carried out on the supercluster field. A spectroscopic campaign resulted in 302 structure members spanning three distinct redshift walls separated by ∼ 65 Mpc. We find …  Read more

This thesis presents the results of a spectroscopic survey of the RCS2319+00 supercluster field using the VIMOS instrument on the 8-meter Very Large Telescope. This system is a rare and massive high-redshift structure, comprising at least three galaxy clusters at z = 0.9, separated by less than 3 Mpc, and is one of the few examples of the progenitors of present-day massive galaxy clusters. We measure 638 new redshifts from a sample of 1134 target sources, 49 of which are consistent with the supercluster redshift. Redshifts are also obtained for 24 radio galaxies within the field, with 6 of these …  Read more

This thesis addresses the question of the application of a supra-national legal regime to the substance of disputes arising from State contracts in the context of international arbitral dispute settlement. Foreign private parties seek to subject the merits of their contractual relationships with a State arising from a State contract to a legal regime superior to the national law of the State party. Such a supra-national legal regime has been advanced through a de-localization trend in international arbitration. In the main, the de-localization trend defies a jurisdictional concept of the legal regime governing a State contract with a view to …  Read more

This thesis, exploring the rule of law for international rules, offers a human bond of common good between determinacy of substance and legitimacy of structure of rules in order to evaluate international obligations of States in international law on foreign investment. In an in-depth exposition of the theoretical underpinnings and practices underlying the normative structure of rules in international law, the thesis critically questions the legal reasoning embedded in—and the authority of rules borrowed from—principles and precedents or moral and political evaluations by arbitrators in interpretation of States' contractual, customary, and treaty obligations in investment arbitrations. With crucial moral, political, …  Read more

La classification est un problème important de l’apprentissage automatique. Plusieurs méthodes one été développées pour le résoudre, qui font des compromis difféerents. Il y a des méthodes, comme les arbres de décision, qui sont très rapides et peuvent utiliser des quantités larges de données, mais leurs résultans sont d’habitude moins bons que les méthodes de pointe, si on n’a pas assez de données. D’autre part, il y a des méthodes, commes les machines vecteurs de support, qui sont plus lentes et ne peuvent pas procésser des données de très grande échelle, mais qui sont vraiment performantes. Nous proposons une combinaison …  Read more

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is a complex disease in which B cells lose tolerance and produce pathogenic antibodies against DNA and nuclear proteins. Patients develop systemic autoimmunity which can manifest itself in a wide variety of manners. B cell receptor (BCR) signalling in lupus patients has historically been believed to be elevated, causing a loss of tolerance to self-antigens. However, there is substantial evidence that has emerged which suggests that some patients actually have diminished BCR signalling. These patients have impaired removal of auto-reactive B cells during development, leading to a repertoire of B cells that have increased affinity for self-antigen. …  Read more

Although ethanol absorption has been studied extensively for over 100 years, many questions remain unanswered regarding the individual variation range of absorption and factors affecting it. In the present study, ethanol absorption was investigated in 60 human subjects in an attempt to establish the factors affecting the normal variation range. In all cases, a standard dose of ethanol was administered in a fasting state and their blood ethanol concentrations were studied. The time period taken for the maximum blood ethanol concentration to be achieved reflects gastric absorption. By studying the timing of this maximum, the subjects could be divided into …  Read more

The term angina pectoris was first introduced to the medical literature by William Heberden (1768). "Before the time of William Heberden, there appeared in the literature descriptions of many cases which have been cited as instances of angina pectoris. The best of these 2 was that by Edward Hyde, the Earl of Clarendon (1609-1674).  Read more

La curiethérapie avec modulation d'intensité (IMBT) est une technique de curiethérapie qui utilise des applicateurs ou des sources blindés statiques ou dynamiques pour fournir une distribution de dose directionnelle. Dans le cas du cancer de la prostate, l'IMBT est souhaitable pour réduire la dose délivrée aux organes à risque, tels que l'urètre, ou permettre une augmentation de la dose sans augmentation associée de la dose urétrale. Cependant, la mise en œuvre de l'IMBT nécessite une source de rayonnement et un système de délivrance appropriés. Le but de cette thèse était d'étudier une méthode réalisable pour délivrer l'IMBT dynamique pour le …  Read more

Gamma emitting radioisotopes such as 75Se, 169Yb and 153Gd are attractive candidates as brachytherapy radiation sources. The first aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of these novel sources, in terms of radiobiological advantages, for applications in high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy. The radiation quality of these potential sources was evaluated using a combination of track structure simulations and numerical microdosimetric techniques, and the weighting factor related to fractionated radiotherapy was predicted from the microdosimetric distributions. The weighting factors were 1.10, 1.14, and 1.19 for 75Se, 169Yb and 153Gd, respectively, which are considerably above unity. The second aim …  Read more