McGill University Theses and dissertations by author name (F)

The common domestic fowl harbours a number of protozoan parasites of the Genus Elmerla; the most important of these is Elmerla tenella. the cause of caecal coccldiosls in chicks. E. tenella is transmitted from host to host in the form of a resistant oocyst, which, under suitable conditions of environmental temperature and humidity, undergoes internal division, resulting in four sporocysts each containing two eporozoites. These sporulated oocysts are Infective to a new host and are swallowed with the food as a contamination. The sporozoltes are liberated in the intestine of the bird and develop in the caeca, where a number …  Read more

Following Kierkegaard's hint respecting the importance of his earlier life, Chapter l of this thesis surveys his childhood and youth with a view to the assessment of its significance for certain important elements in his philosophy and, more specifically, for his understanding of the process of self-realization. The purpose of the historical sketch in Chapter II is to exhibit the continuity of the concern for self-realization or individuation in recorded philosophical and religious reflection.  Read more

This thesis examines creditors' use of the oppression remedy under the Canada Business Corporations Act and its provincial equivalents from historical and critical perspectives, assesses the consequences of the increasing willingness of Canadian courts to make the remedy available to creditors and concludes by offering some solutions to the problems that are identified. Part I traces the historical development of the oppression remedy, first in the United Kingdom and then in common law Canada. Next, the current state of the law relating to the oppression remedy is briefly examined, followed by a review of recent developments with respect to the …  Read more

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) was examined during cold acclimation of seedlings of the freezing-tolerant cultivar (Medicago sativa ssp falcata cv Anik) and the relatively freezing-sensitive cultivar (Medicago sativa cv Trek) of alfalfa. With four days of cold acclimation, PEPC activity increased to 3.5-fold and 2-fold the control levels in Anik and Trek, respectively. This was associated with an increase in the level of a 110 kD PEPC protein and a decrease in the amount of a 120 kD PEPC polypeptide in both cultivars. The role of reversible phosphorylation in regulating PEPC activity was demonstrated by in vitro phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, which …  Read more

Hendry, Andrew (Supervisor1)  Read more

Established human lung cancer exhibits a complex pattern of genetic changes as well as several distinct autocrine growth factor loops for regulatory peptides. The best studied example is that of gastrin-releasing peptide or GRP, the mammalian homolog of the amphibian bombesin. Three human bombesin receptor subtypes have been cloned. They are the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRP-R), the neuromedin-B receptor (NMB-R), and the bombesin-receptor subtype-3 (BRS-3). Low level expression of the GRP-R and NMB-R mRNA was detected in cultures of human bronchial epithelium. BRS-3 mRNA was undetected in these cells. An elevation of intracellular calcium concentration was observed in response to …  Read more

The excessive deposition of redox-active iron has been amply documented in the basal ganglia of subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). Yet, much remains to be learned regarding the cellular and subcellular distribution of this metal and the precise role(s) it plays in the pathogenesis of PD. Cysteamine (CSH) induces the appearance of peroxidase-positive cytoplasmic granules in cultured neonatal rat astroglia which are identical to glial inclusions that progressively accumulate in the aging subcortical brain. These inclusions are derived from degenerate mitochondria which sequester iron and other transition metals before undergoing fusion with lysosomes in an autophagic process. Dr. Schipper has …  Read more

Although important advances have been achieved in the treatment of individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1), the development of resistance to current antiretroviral drugs is a topic of major concern. The K65R, L74V and M184V mutations within HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) share numerous characteristics, such as similar discriminatory mechanisms in regard to incorporation of relevant nucleoside RT inhibitors (NRTIs), decreased viral replication capacity and hypersusceptibility to zidovudine (ZDV-HS). Despite our increased understanding of NRTI resistance, the biochemical basis for the observed resistance/hypersusceptibility to certain NRTIs as well as diminished viral replication associated with the aforementioned mutations …  Read more

This research project studies 100 children in the care of the Children's Service Centre of Montreal, who were moved from one foster home to another within a six months survey period, April 1 to September 30, 1954. It is focused on the frequency and causes of movement. It is an attempt to determine why these children were moved and whether some of the moves could have been prevented. Agency records on the child and foster home were used as the source data. The study opens with a discussion on the literature in child care, which provides a theoretical base for …  Read more

My interest in the problems of unionism in the public service was aroused in 1953 when, together with R.C. Pratt, I undertook a study of staff relations in Canadian municipalities. This research was subsequently published under our joint authorship as Municipal Labour Relations in Canada. The subject proved to be particularly interesting to me because it raised important questions about public administration and constitutional policy which do not come up in ordinary private labour relations. [...]  Read more

The writings of Machiavelli and Hume are separated by two and a quarter centuries. There is no doubt that the intellectual climates of Renaissance and Enlightenment, the political problems of Italy and England ~ and the social positions of Machiavelli and Hume were important elements in the formation of their respective philosophies. It is undeniable that certain aspects of their thought can be better understood in terms of the historical context in which they lived. [...]  Read more

Chromatography is probably the most recent analytical technique to be adopted by laboratories in almost every part of the world. The extremely simple apparatus that is required, a covered container, a cylinder of filter paper and a simple spray, has made the technique of paper chromatography available to every laboratory. [...]  Read more

The culture filtrates of Lancefield group A, Griffith type 12 nephritogenic streptococci have been shown by Reed and Matheson (1954) to produce renal lesions, urinary abnormalities, and sustalned hypertension in rabbits. The nephrotoxic substance is dialysable and can be salted out from the concentrated dialysate at 60-75% of full saturation with ammonium sulfate. Matheson (1957) has shown that this fraction contains a mixture of polypeptides which are nephrotoxic in rabbits and Rhesus monkeys (Reed and Matheson 1960). The polypeptides have been separated electrophoretically and Cheuk (1960) has found that one polypeptide band contains more nephrotoxic activity than the other observable …  Read more

From the earliest times it was known that the administration of various natural substances to man and animals had a pronounced effect on their physiological behaviour. Following the rapid development of chemistry during the latter half of the eighteenth century, many attempts were made to isolate the physiologically active substances in the natural products used in medicine. The progress in organic chemistry during the nineteenth century provided the means to study the structure and synthesise derivatives of many compounds of therapeutic value isolated from natural products, such as morphine from opium and quinine from cinchona bark.  Read more

An interpersonal model of depression (Coyne, 1976b) was investigated using college student subjects and their friends. Coyne described an interpersonal process in which the depressed person elicits a negative response from significant others that serves to maintain the depression. Depressed, test anxious, and normal female college students interacted with a close same-sex friend; the dependent variables included measures of mood, perceptions, and behavior. Subject pairs were given several self-report measures before and after a 15-minute interaction with their friend. This interaction was videotaped and coded for several verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Depressed subjects reported lower levels of perceived social support, …  Read more

Grassland, despite its vast areas, was strangely overlooked in agricultural research until about twenty years ago. Since that time, recognizing the importance of this resource, its depletion, and scope for its betterment, many scientific institutions have engaged in experimental work. Study has now been commenced in most world grazing regions and Quebec pastures have not been excepted, as experimental stations and colleges soon responded to the possibilities of the new development. [...]  Read more

Rogers, Colin Andrew (Supervisor1)  Read more

2-3000 Canadians are currently suffering from an incurable disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The disease attacks the motor neurons (MN) throughout the central nervous system. Upper MN present in the primary motor cortex (M1) degenerate during the disease process, in addition to lower (spinal cord and brain stem) MN. Studies in patients have revealed that cortical hyperexcitability, happens very early in the ALS pathogenesis. These findings were mirrored by studies in the most commonly used mouse model of the disease that carries the ALS-linked superoxide dismutase 1 mutation G93A (SOD1G93A). It is unclear to this date which cell types …  Read more

My dissertation examines the work of three turn-of-the-twentieth-century music critics—Vernon Lee (pseud. Violet Paget), Rosa Newmarch, and Edward Prime-Stevenson—through the lenses of queer musicology and biography. While conventional wisdom has it that musicology's interest in gender and sexuality studies began with the "new musicology" of the 1990s, I argue that expanding the definition of "musicology" allows musicologists to consider a wider variety of voices and perspectives in the history of our field. Each of my chapters is organized according to a particular author's approach to listening to music, the research process, and treatment of queer subject matter. While all three …  Read more

Byzantine religious manuscripts were commissioned by people from many levels of society. Several contain portraits of their commissioners, represented together with a holy figure. An analysis of these scenes, examining features such as the holy figures represented and their specific iconographic meaning, and the relation of mortal to divine, reveals many facets of Byzantine art, religion and society. This analysis indicates a major distinction between portraits representing the emperor, and those depicting all other patrons. Non-imperial portraits show deep personal devotion and piety. The manuscripts in which they occur were commissioned to honour the holy figure, and many request salvation …  Read more

Yong, R. N. (Supervisor)  Read more

Le succès de la reproduction de l'omble de fontaine (Salvelinus fontinalis), comme ceux d'autres espèces salmonidés, est dépendant de la disponibilité et la qualité des l'habitat de fraye/incubation. Pour l'omble de fontaine, en particulier, la composition du substrat et l'écoulement des eaux souterraines et hyporhéiques sont des facteurs clés qui influencent à la fois la convenance d'habitat lotiques et la survie des embryons imbriqués dans ces habitats. La survie à l'émergence été démontrée être négativement liée à la concentration des sédiments fins dans les substrat et positivement liée à la vitesse d'écoulement interstitiel. La composition du substrat (par des effets …  Read more

L’évolution cognitive longitudinale des survivants du coma est mal documentée dans la littérature, ce qui se rapporte à une lacune importante en pratique clinique. Cette thèse fait partie d'un projet d’envergure qui cherche à remédier à cette lacune en établissant des évidences neurophysiologiques pour le traitement des lésions cérébrales chez les survivants des unités de soins intensifs (NET-ICU). Dans l’étude NET-ICU, on utilise l'électroencéphalographie à haute densité (EEG) afin d’identifier des marqueurs neurophysiologiques qui prédisent la récupération des fonctions cognitives. Cette thèse a pour objectif de caractériser l’évolution sur le plan cognitif, ainsi que les trajectoires de récupération cognitive chez …  Read more

In order to close the gap that exists between the research areas of mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning, this study examined cognitive, metacognitive, and affective aspects of mathematics anxiety as well as students' mathematics performance and competence. One hundred and five grade 9 students, 51 males and 54 females, from two high schools in the same school board provided data on current and past final grades and anxiety measures, both general and specific to mathematics anxiety. A subset of 40 students was selected based on either high or low mathematics anxiety, and verbal protocols were collected while they solved six …  Read more

The gut microbiome is an important component of host health and immunity, yet within and among wildlife populations, variation in gut microbial communities, and their main drivers, have received little attention to date. Notable drivers found in humans and lab animals are short- and long-term diets. Alterations in wildlife foraging behavior and food web dynamics can occur as a result of climate change-induced alterations to habitat, particularly in sensitive Arctic ecosystems experiencing extensive sea ice decline. As apex predators, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) serve as an important Arctic ecosystem indicator species. Different subpopulations of polar bears inhabit different ecoregions that …  Read more

In this thesis we address the singularity problem within the formalism of Double Field Theory (DFT). This problem arises in the context of General Relativity and is also present in string cosmology. We start by introducing the necessary elements of cosmology, string theory, string cosmology and DFT which allow the understanding of the research presented here. The first result encompasses a generalization of the DFT action in order to consider point particle motion. After deriving the geodesic equations for the point particle, we argue that the geodesic motion can be extended to both past and future infinities once the appropriate …  Read more

Mammalian DNA sequences (ors), enriched for origins of DNA replication, have been isolated by extruding nascent DNA from replication bubbles activated at the beginning of S phase in CV-1 monkey cells. To determine whether these sequences had origin function, their ability to enable pBR322 plasmids to replicate autonomously in mammalian cells was examined. Using the DpnI-resistance assay and density labeling with bromodeoxyuridine, plasmids containing four different ors (ors 3, 8, 9 and 12) were found to replicate after transfection in CV-1, COS-7 and HeLa cell lines. These results were verified using electron microscopy for ors 8 and ors 12 plasmids, …  Read more

Objective. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether high frequency stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (HFS STN), for the treatment of motor signs and symptoms characteristic of Parkinson disease (PD), has detrimental consequences for cognitive processing. Methods . An extensive battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to 15 PD patients with bilateral implantation of high frequency stimulators of the subthalamic nucleus for the treatment of PD. Patients were tested in two sessions: during one session the stimulator was set to a satisfactory therapeutic level and in the other the stimulator was set to OFF. Results. Statistically significant …  Read more

In current discussion among feminists in general and feminist theologians in particular the status of theory, especially concerning essentialism and foundationalism, is a critical question. This study examines the issues pertaining to this question through reference to Nancy Fraser and Linda Nicholson, Susan Thistlethwaite, Sheila Davaney, Rebecca Chopp, and Morny Joy. In order to situate this critical question and its implications for feminist theology, the work of the Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo (1936-$ ...)$ is explored. Vattimo's work is analyzed in relation to three central aspects of his thought: Vattimo's genuine interpretation of the relation of Martin Heidegger to Friedrich …  Read more

Gostick, Jeff (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Voltage-gated potassium currents make important contributions to neuronal function. Postsynaptically, potassium currents regulate excitability to depolarizing inputs and determine action potential firing frequency. Furthermore, voltage-gated potassium channels are known to affect the shape of the presynaptic action potential, so as to influence calcium influx and neurotransmitter release. I have focused on the expression of voltage-gated potassium channel genes by peripheral neurons. Among my objectives were to determine which voltage-gated potassium channel genes are expressed by sympathetic neurons of the superior cervical ganglia (SCG) and measure mRNA levels for these genes during normal neonatal development and during development in culture. I …  Read more

This study has proven to be of particular interest because it is concerned with education in its broadest sense. The problem of the re-settlement of displaced persons in Canada is one of rehabilitation of lives which have undergone unusual strain and unnatural experiences. When we invite displaced persons to settle here we undertake the obligation of so providing for their re-education and for their adaptation to Canadian life that they will become useful and happy citizens. This study has inevitably turned its attention towards many and different aspects of the background of these displaced persons and of the problems which …  Read more

A hydrological and biogeochemical study was undertaken at the Mer Bleue bog, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from May 22, 1998 to May 21, 1999. Basin runoff was generated by groundwater discharge at the peatland margin, and groundwater discharge was controlled by hydraulic gradients and horizontal hydraulic conductivities (Kh). Flux of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) measured at the basin outflow was 8.3 g C m-2 yr-1 and compared to within 23% of DOC flux estimated using a Dupuit approximation of seepage during the ice-free season. Annual DOC flux was 11% of the annual carbon sink. Flownet analysis showed that seasonal patterns of …  Read more

Des incertitudes dans la dose délivrée aux patients existent toujours car les changements anatomiques sont imprévisibles et spécifiques à chaque patient. La radiothérapie guidée par l'image (IGRT) dépend de l'imagerie en ligne afin de suivre la tumeur et les tissus sains adjacents, et s'assure que leur positions, par rapport au faisceau de radiation, est telle que planifiés. L'objectif de cette thèse a été de déterminer l'impact dosimétrique du désalignement de la cible par rapport au faisceau de radiation du aux erreurs d'installation, aux mouvement des organes, à la déformation de la tumeur, aux changements de l'habitus du corps et aux …  Read more

It is standard practice in radiation therapy to have two independent calculations for the number of monitor units used in patient treatment plans. The relationship between monitor units and absorbed dose to water is sophisticated for MLC-based IMRT. Verification measurements of absorbed dose to water with ionization chambers in MLC-based IMRT fields remains uncertain and the accuracy of computer modeling is limited by the physics assumptions used. In this thesis, point dose measurements from three cylindrical ionization chambers of different collecting volumes are evaluated against the CORVUS (NOMOS Corporation, Cranberry, PA) finite-size pencil beam algorithm and the PEREGRINE (NOMOS Corporation, …  Read more

Le problème des transports en est un epi remonte loin dans 1'histoire de 1'humanité. Ce problème a grandi sans cesse jusqu'à 1'heure actuelle, et il est certain ql'il continuera à devenir plus urgent et plus compliqué à l'avenir, au fur et à mesure que les différents moyens de transport deviendront plus perfectionnés et plus variés. Notre civilisation et nos déve1oppements, qu'ils soient nationaux ou internationaux, ont suivi partout le développement des communications et des voies de transport. De nos jours, les transports ont atteint une importance et une puissance énormes dans toutes les phases de la vie humaine. [...]  Read more

Until about 1925, geneticists were mainly concerned with the demonstration, confirmation, modification and extension of Mendel’s laws, and with their bearing on the problem of evolution. The genes were thought of as discrete units, and interest was focussed mainly on their identification and localization on the chromosomes, and the way in which they were combined, segregated and transmitted through the germ cells. More recently the attention of geneticists has turned more and more from what Goldschmidt (1938) terms the ‘static’ towards the ‘dynamic’ aspects of genetic research; namely, the causal relationships existing between the genotype and the phenotype. It is …  Read more

The term "crossing-over" is used to denote the exchange of pieces or segments between homologous chromosomes. The mechanism by which this exchange is brought about has constituted one of the major fields of genetical and cytological research for many years. The early work on crossing over was done by genetical methods which provided the means of analysis of the organization of linkage-groups--an analysis which was fundamental to the chromosome theory of heredity. Among the important discoveries resulting from the study of crossing-over were: (1) the linear arrangement of the genes (Sturtevant, 1913a), (2) the occurrence of interference between the crossing-over …  Read more

Entre la Mer et Rhyl est une composition musicale pour orchestre à vent, deux trios solos, et mé- dia fixe, qui décrit ekphrastiquement « La mer et l'alouette » (1877), le sonnet du poète anglais Gerard Manley Hopkins. Écrit tout en marchant le long de la plage de la ville touristique de Rhyl (Denbighshire, Pays de Gales), le poème de Hopkins exprime une dualité entre les macrocosmes naturels et humains, et présente une riche imagerie sonore. Ma pièce traite ce matériau poétique comme un paysage sonore, cartographiant un voyage de 12 minutes pendant que Hopkins se promène le long de …  Read more

l) An apparatus has been calibrated which will measure the surface of grades of white quartz with specific surface as high as 42,000 squarecentimeters per gram.2) It has been shown that the theoretical law K == CA only holds for grades coarser than + 400 mesh.3) With white quartz or glass products finer than - 400 mesh the machine integrates the surface of the grades making up the sample very closely. [...]  Read more

The opioid family of G-protein coupled receptors comprises four known receptor subtype genes (delta, mu, kappa, ORL1) and further receptor heterogeneity within each opioid receptor subfamily has been proposed. All four genes are expressed throughout the central nervous system and are believed to modulate a variety of behavioural responses including analgesia. Opiate drugs such as morphine that are selective for the mu receptor subtype are effective analgesics, but their chronic use is limited by the appearance of side effects such as respiratory depression, constipation and dependence. Consequently, the analgesic potential of agonists selective for other opioid receptors is under investigation. …  Read more

This thesis examines Beckett's trilogy as a work of metafiction, approaching each novel through its primary metafictional device, the self-conscious narrator. Since the narrators are aware of their roles as story-tellers, the examination is carried out in light of Beckett's pronouncements on the nature of art and the artist. Not only are the narrators found to meet Beckett's criteria for artists and artistic development, but Beckett's aesthetic is seen virtually to require self-consciousness. In their situations, their relationship to the audience (both reader and narratee) and the nature of their tales, the self-conscious narrators follow the artistic trajectory Beckett maps …  Read more

The response of the human talocrural articulation to internal and external torques was investigated in an in vitro study. Experimental and theoretical methods were used to evaluate this response in terms of (1) displacement between the tibia and the talus, (2) tension in the major ligamentous structures of the joint, and (3) stresses in the bones of the talocrural joint mortise. The experimental investigation involved the design and fabrication of several testing and measurement instruments, including a three-dimensional joint loading apparatus, a six degrees-of-freedom displacement measuring device, and several implantable, non-destructive ligament tension transducers. The stress distribution in the talocrural …  Read more