McGill University Theses and dissertations by author name (I)

The aim of the thesis is to analyze Britain's Mediterranean strategy and his relationship to the acquisition of the Dodecanese islands to Greece. Chapter I of this study includes a historical background of the islands prior to the Second World War. Chapter II examines British policy toward Greece and the Dodecanese between 1923-43. Chapter III provides an analysis of the role of the Dodecanese within British policy and military operations in the eastern Mediterranean. The last section deals with the actual restoration of the Dodecanese islands to Greece.  Read more

Rab GTPases are critical regulators of membrane trafficking and not surprisingly defects in Rabs contribute to various human diseases. For example, Rab13 is associated with several phenotypes associated with cancer, but the regulation of Rab13 in membrane trafficking is poorly understood. The general objective of this doctoral research was to study the function and regulation of Rab13 in endosomal trafficking. Rabs cycle between an active GTP-bound form and an inactive GDP-bound form. Upon activation by guanine nucleotide exchange factors, Rabs associate with membranes where they recruit effector molecules to mediate their downstream response. However, the spatio-temporal activation of Rab13 was …  Read more

Aircraft noise is one of the most controversial environmental concerns in the aviation industry, partly due to the difficulty in harmonizing countries' regulation regarding this issue. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the ways in which aircraft noise is regulated at the national and international levels, and to compare the legislative responses to aircraft noise issues in Europe and North America. Each of the four main chapters of the thesis takes into consideration a different aspect of the problem. The first chapter describes the objective and subjective ways of measuring aircraft noise. This process is necessary in order …  Read more

Background. Continuity of care as a principle of health care planning is losing ground in favor of new principles such as accessibility and plurality of provision, but the long-term effects of these changes on the utilization of expensive health services such as hospitalizations and emergency department utilization are still unknown. Objective. To investigate among individuals aged 66 years or older who have had an index visit to an emergency department (ED) whether there is an association between the continuity with a primary care provider and the likelihood of having an ED return visit 14 days after the index ED visit. …  Read more

Abrahamowicz, Michal (Supervisor1)  Read more

A theory of operation, design recommendations and performance limits of torque meters, based on magnetic-stress anisotropy, have been established. The theory, based on considerations of total magnetic-crystal energy, successfully explains both the qualitative and quantitative behaviour of these devices. The theory has been checked and the design recommendations have been established by measurement of the behaviour of steel and nickel torque tubes of various wall thicknesses over a range of magnetizing force, frequency and stress. It has been established that sustained accuracies of better than 1% are readily obtained, the limit of accuracy being of the order of 0.1%. Such …  Read more

Les mesures de progrès psychothérapique (PP) ont démontré pouvoir fournir plusieurs avantages aux cliniciens tel que d'identifier les clients qui ne progressent pas ou qui se détériorent au cours du traitement, améliorer l'efficacité de la psychothérapie, et fournir des données de qualité à des fins d'amélioration. Cette recherche examine la prévalence, les défis et les éléments facilitants de l'utilisation de ces mesures. L'étude 1 est une enquête nationale examinant l'utilisation des mesures PP au Canada, les profiles des utilisateurs et des psychologues qui sont conscientisés aux mesures PP, les mesures PP les plus communément utilisées, ainsi que d'autres moyens utilisés …  Read more

This thesis is an inquiry into the status and function of beauty practices for women in the medieval period, as they are recorded in contemporary cosmetic recipe collections. With special attention paid to one thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman cosmetic treatise, "Ornatus Mulierum", this study situates cosmetics within the medieval manuscript and cultural contexts in which they were received and perceived.Although fundamentally a collection of beautifying facial and hair treatments for women, "Ornatus Mulierum" appears in a medical compendium (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 1470), following a standard compilation practice for texts of these types. Furthermore, the treatise itself features a distinctive reference …  Read more

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a deadly neglected tropical disease that affects thousands of people each year in 29 endemic countries across sub-Saharan Africa. HAT is caused by a microscopic, protozoan parasite known as Trypanosoma brucei (T. brucei) which is transmitted by the bite of infected tsetse flies. Some T. brucei subspecies cause Animal Trypanosomiasis (AT) such as nagana, which affects cattle and results in large-scale agricultural economic losses. T. brucei evades the host antibody response by antigenic variation, expressing a single VSG gene from a repertoire of 2,500 different VSG genes primarily within subtelomeric regions. Previous mass-spectroscopy data found …  Read more

The transcription of baculovirus genes can be divided into three major temporal classes--early, late, and very late. Early transcription occurs prior to DNA synthesis and is carried out by the host RNA polymerase II. The late phases of viral expression occur during and after DNA replication. Very late transcription is distinguished from late transcription by the synthesis of large amounts of mRNA that remain elevated for extended periods of time. The high level of expression from the very late promoters is characteristic to those genes (polyhedrin and p10) whose products play a role in the formation of occlusion bodies, structures …  Read more

This thesis presents an exploratory approach using detailed zooarchaeological analysis to evaluate the nature of ringed seal ( Phoca hispida) remains from three seasonally different Thule sites in the Hazard Inlet area of Somerset Island, Nunavut. Most Thule research focuses on winter occupation and presents Thule as a whaling society. Little attention has been given on the nature of sealing during Thule occupation and research on seasonal differences of seal remains from Thule sites remains scarce. This thesis is thus one of the first to focus on ringed seal remains from seasonally different Thule sites through an analysis of over …  Read more

Battery is a major health care issue that, despite increased recognition, fails to be detected in health care institutions. Without adequate detection, referral to social and community services are less likely to occur, rendering women victims vulnerable to continued risk physically, psychologically and medically. This study seeks to describe actual detection and referral practices in an emergency department at a large teaching hospital in Quebec, as well as explore health care professionals' knowledge about and practices regarding the detection and referral of battered women. Its aim is to better understand the pathways and barriers to detection and referral of abused …  Read more

Free radicals are thought to be involved in the destructive process of beta cells in Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Studies were performed to test the hypotheses (1) that malondialdehyde (MDA), a by-product of lipid peroxidation, affects $ beta$-cell function and integrity in vitro and (2) that such effects might be prevented in the BB rat (a model of spontaneous autoimmune diabetes) in vivo by administration of $ alpha$-phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone (PBN), a free radical spin trap. First, islets of Wistar-Furth rats were studied at 12, 24 and 40 hr of culture in either 5.5, 11 or 16.5 mM glucose, and MDA at …  Read more

Depuis quelque temps, les contrôleurs de jeux vidéo évoluent en instruments à bases de capteurs qui suivent les mouvements dynamiques et naturelles, et imitent les instruments utilisés dans la vie de tous les jours. La popularité soudaine de ce type de contrôleurs nous mène à considérer si cette nouvelle manière d'interaction naturel va devenir la norme pour l'avenir du divertissement électronique. Cette notion nous a inspiré à investiguer la préférence de l'interaction physique versus les modes virtuels conventionnels. Pour accomplir ceci, un système prototype multiutilisateur a été développé en utilisant des composantes matérielles commerciales à prix modiques. Notre système comprend …  Read more

Dans les organismes complexes, des cellules génétiquement identiques adoptent des destins cellulaires différents lors de la structuration des tissus. À la base de ce processus se trouve l’expression différentielle des déterminants du destin cellulaire, qui à son tour dépend souvent des informations de position reçues par les cellules. De tels signaux de position peuvent être des ligands diffusibles localisés qui engagent des voies de transduction de signal qui activent des facteurs de transcription en aval qui se lient aux modules cis-régulateurs (CRE) des gènes déterminants du destin cellulaire et régulent leur expression. Grâce à une combinaison d'indices de position qui …  Read more

Two DNases have been isolated and separated from Novikoff ascites hepatoma by ammonium sulfate fractionation and have been further purified by chromatography on ion exchange columns of DEAE types. One of these two enzymes, called acid DNase, is active at a pH between 5.4 and 5.8, hydrolyzing native DNA much faster than denatured DNA. The other, known as alkaline DNase, has a pH optimum between 8.9 and 9.4 and hydrolyzes denatured DNA faster than native DNA. [...]  Read more

Objectif. Examiner la prévalence et la comorbidité des troubles de santé mentale (actuels et passés) et des troubles de la personnalité chez les adultes souffrant de trouble déficitaire de l'attention avec hyperactivité (TDAH) et de troubles spécifiques de l'apprentissage (TSA). Aussi, identifier si la nature de ces comorbidités diffère selon le type de TSA.Méthode. Cette revue rétrospective d’analyse des dossiers comprend 842 adultes référés cliniquement. L'utilisation du khi carré et des analyses de régression logistique ont été effectuées.Résultats. Les adultes atteints de TDAH et de TSA, par rapport à ceux atteints de TDAH seulement, présentaient des taux plus élevés de …  Read more

Krysanowski, Lawrence (Supervisor)  Read more

Robbins, Shawn (Supervisor1)  Read more

Comme les limites imminentes du développement des dispositifs à semi-conducteurs - la loi de Moore - sontva finir par être touché, de nombreux problèmes de calcul gagnent en importance dans les sociétés modernesrestent à résoudre. Le contexte de deux de ces problèmes, l'un indépendant de l'autre, estsuit: (i) Aujourd'hui, étant donné la puissance de calcul toujours croissante, les systèmes cryptographiques reposent sur de véritables nombres aléatoires pour crypter une grande quantité de données privées et protéger le secret contre les malwaresattaques. Pour générer un vrai hasard, les ordinateurs, étant des machines strictement déterministes, doiventobtenir l'entropie à partir de processus physiques …  Read more

La conversion de l'énergie solaire en forme de combustible chimique sans carbone constitue un élément clé du paradigme économique que posent les énergies renouvelables. Au cours des deux dernières décennies, les impacts croissants et généralisés provenant des changements climatiques anthropiques sont devenus essentiels à la demande critique pour une conversion de combustible solaire en produit chimique, qui serait à la fois efficace, écologique et produit à grande échelle. Dans cette perspective, la recette scientifique de la séparation de l'eau par voie d'énergie solaire en utilisant des semiconducteurs abondants en terre, qui absorbent la lumière, prend un rôle critique pouvant définir …  Read more

Le but de cette thèse est de présenter une étude détaillée de la mise enoeuvre du filtre IMM et de ses composants, avec comme objectif principal l'évaluation de la performance du filtre, appliqué aux systèmes hybrides. Tous les systèmes de mesure ont des erreurs de lecture provenant du capteur, qui est corrompue par plusieurs bruits. Même si ce bruit est de faiblevariance, il doit toujours être pris en compte pour obtenir des estimations deposition précises. Les techniques de filtrage aident à éliminer le bruit et donc à améliorer le suivi dynamique du système. Il n'est pas possible d'obtenir des résultats …  Read more

Thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) belong to the PR-5 gene family of pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. Their role in biotic and abiotic stress tolerance is well documented in the literature. Recent studies indicate that one of the TLP genes, HvTLP8 interacts with β-glucan during seed germination and could influence malting quality traits. β-glucan is the major non-starch dietary fiber present in the barley grain, a low amount of which is a desirable trait for the malting barley breeding and brewing industry. Higher expression of HvTLP8 correlates with the low amount of (1,3,1,4)-β-glucan and vice versa. The current project aims to discover and characterize …  Read more

Un monomère d'IDBA (3 monomère,-isopropényl- α, α -dimethylbenzylamine) comportant un groupe amine primaire fonctionnel a été synthétisé avec peu d'étapes de purification, avec rendement (jusqu'à 76 %) et un taux de conversion (98 %) élevés grâce à un précurseur économique disponible commercialement, le m-TMI (3-isopropényl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate). Des polymères d'IDBA, de MA (acrylate de méthyle) et d'acrylonitrile aminés ont ensuite été synthétisés dans le diméthylformamide (DMF) en utilisant l'AIBN comme initiateur. Ces polymères ont été réagis avec le poly(éthylène) couplé avec de l'anhydride maléique (PE - MA) dans une extrudeuse miniature conique avec contre-rotation (Haake Minilab) à 20% et de 40% …  Read more

Les troubles psychiatriques d'apparition précoce, couramment comorbides, pourraient refléter l'expression variable de facteurs de risque qui se chevauchent. Les processus médiateurs restent mal compris, mais trois facteurs semblent prometteurs: les traits d'extériorisation des adolescents, l'adversité au début de la vie et les auto-récepteurs de la dopamine D2 du mésencéphale. Pour déterminer si ces caractéristiques acquièrent un plus grand pouvoir prédictif lorsqu'elles sont combinées, une étude longitudinale a été menée auprès de jeunes suivis depuis la naissance. Les membres de la cohorte ont été invités à participer en fonction des scores d'externalisation entre 10 et 16 ans. À 18 ans (18,5 …  Read more

Combined free and forced convection inside inclined circular tubes is studied theoretically. The case considered is that of fully developed laminar flow under constant heat flux. All fluid properties are considered constant except the density. Velocity and temperature equations are developed by perturbation analysis in terms of power series of Rayleigh number. Solutions have been obtained up to second order in Rayleigh number. When density is considered variable only in the buoyancy terms the resulting equations contain dimensionless parameters; Rayleigh, Reynolds and Prandtl numbers. [...]  Read more

In a heat exchanger the rate of heat flow from the hot to the cold fluid is proportional to the temperature difference between the two. For design purposes it is essential to know the mean difference in temperature between the inlet and exit temperatures.  Read more

La fermentation de champignons sur des résidus riches en sucre pourrait être une façon économique de produire de l'acide citrique, à condition de bien maîtriser les paramètres de fermentation. La présente étude avait comme objectif d'évaluer l'effet de la charge de sucre, soit en glucose, et d'azote, soit en ammonium, sur la biomasse du champignon Aspergillus niger ATCC12846 et sur sa production d'acide citrique. De l'argile expansée (Hydrotron® ou HSS) fut utilisée comme substrat solide pour le champignon A. niger ATCC 12846. Le substrat fut humecté d'une solution offrant différents taux de glucose, de 0 à 475 g (kg HSS)-1 …  Read more

As women who experience Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) are at considerably greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes in life, prevention of GDM is particularly important. The objectives of this research were to identify lifestyle predictors associated with GDM in a developing country and to validate a physical activity questionnaire for assessing total energy expenditure in a Pakistani population. A prospective cohort study of 750 South Asian women recruited early in gestation was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan. Eligibility criteria included South Asian origin and ≤ 18 weeks gestation. Data on physical activity, diet, socio-demographic covariates, weight, height and body composition …  Read more

This qualitative study aims to describe and understand the cultural identities of people of "mixed" backgrounds whose mother comes from one racial, ethnic or national background and whose father comes from another background. In-depth, individual interviews were conducted with nine people of "mixed" backgrounds in order to understand the meanings that particular racial, ethnic or national labels have for them and how those meanings are constructed. My analysis is shaped by the works of Hall (1996, 2003), Taylor (1989, 1992) and Bourdieu (1986, 1990) among others. The participants claimed multiple labels in ambivalent ways. They spoke about what they know …  Read more

Le syndrome métabolique est devenu un problème médical, affectant des millions de personnes dans le monde. Ce syndrome est défini par le regroupement des facteurs de risque qui prédisposent aux maladies cardiovasculaires et au diabète. Les interventions actuelles ne se sont pas révélées adéquates, car la prévalence de ce syndrome n'a pas diminué. Les probiotiques ont suscité beaucoup d'intérêt pour leur potentiel dans le traitement de diverses maladies. La plupart des recherches courant se sont concentrés sur l'utilisation d'un seul probiotique, mais, pour l'utilisation dans le syndrome métabolique qui a de multiples facteurs de risque, cela a eu des résultats …  Read more

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to assess the extent to which household characteristics and behaviours exert their effects both directly and indirectly on childhood mortality through the more proximate factors that can be measured within the context of society. A child mortality model, primarily based on Mosley and Chen's framework, is developed by linking individual and societal factors. Then the model is tested with empirical data from the Fars Province of Iran. The survey data were collected in 1991--92 in five counties of Fars. It consisted of 10665 interviews and covered 67 villages 14 towns and one city. …  Read more

This thesis critically appraised the Cerebellar Deficit Theory (CDT) which claims to provide a parsimonious explanation of the two most prominent existing cognitive deficit theories of dyslexia, namely the phonological and the speed naming deficit theories. Specifically, a mild congenital cerebellar deficit is proposed to give rise to a series of impairments that eventually lead to difficulties in rapid naming, phonological processing and reading. Conceptual problems with the theoretical model behind the CDT were first identified and discussed. The behavioral evidence related to CDT was then evaluated. Following this evaluation, four major questions related to CDT were examined: (1) Was …  Read more

The present study examined the predictive ability of the stage model in the establishment of an alliance in adolescent counselling. The relationship between readiness for change and the three dimensions of the working alliance was also further explored. Fifty-one students between the ages of 14 and 18, who were seeking counselling in their schools, were recruited through two school boards in a large eastern Canadian city. The results provided empirical support for a relationship between adolescents' readiness for change and the quality of their working alliance. In comparison to students who were resistant to change, those who were ready to …  Read more

Lightman, J. B.  Read more

This study focuses on the relationship between Hooker's doctrine of law and his concept of "participation," which is an important feature of his sacramental doctrine. In The Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie (V.50--67), Richard Hooker discusses the saving work of Christ and man's participation in him through faith and the sacraments. How does Hooker understand participation in God? Hooker speaks of the Atonement, Justification and sacraments in the vocabulary of the magisterial Reform, but (perhaps uniquely) understands the same doctrines within the framework of law, the instrument by which God orders his creation. Hooker defines law in terms of Aristotelian causes …  Read more

This thesis examines the principles of tariff classification in Canadian customs law. Tariff appeals prior to implementation of the Harmonized System in January 1988 are analyzed. The General Rules for Interpretation of the Harmonized System are then discussed. The thesis throughout is that interpretation should not be limited to physical characteristics such as material composition. The naming of goods requires a contextual approach to interpretation which also takes into account their use in application.  Read more

With increasing bandwidth requirements of individual users, fibre-to-the-home systems are promising candidates for last mile communication. In case of local area networks, optical CDMA with nonorthogonal spreading sequences has emerged as an attractive technology that can manage quickly varying user requirements, while enabling total bandwidth utilization, avoiding network congestion and preventing denial of service. However, powerful error-control codes have to be utilized within optical CDMA systems to prevent errors caused by multiuser interference. Due to data rates common in optical communication, dedicated hardware is required to run such error-control codes at very high speeds, e.g., 155 Mbps or 652 Mbps. …  Read more

Guthrie, Professor R.I.L.  Read more

The events in the formation of the components of the mammalian sperm flagellum have been elucidated, in an analysis of rat spermiogenesis, by electron microscopy and EM radioautography using ('3)H-proline and ('3)H-cystine. The connecting piece forms by deposition of dense material around the centrioles during steps 8-15. Newly-synthesized proteins are incorporated into this structure throughout this period. The outer dense fibers exist in step 8-14 spermatids as slender fibrils associated with the axonemal doublets. During step 16, they undergo rapid growth, assuming the form of the mature fibers. This results from massive deposition of proline- and cystine-containing proteins onto the …  Read more

Introduction. The Carotid Endarterectomy (CEA) is used for stroke prophylaxis in asymptomatic carotid stenosis and in patients with previous strokes or transient ischemic attacks. Objective. To audit the operative results of the CEA in the province of Quebec between 1996 and 1999. Methods. The Quebec Medical Discharge Summary Database provided demographics and surgical complications following all CEAs performed between 1996--1999. Results. The CEA was performed at a rate of 42 procedures/100 000 persons aged greater than 40 however this rate appears to be declining over the study span. Being operated on by a neurosurgeon was an independent risk factor for …  Read more

The characteristics and expression of laboratory derived chloramphenicol (CM) resistance in P. aeruginosa were examined. Resistant strains exhibiting single cell resistance of 1.5 to 2 mg/mL were readily isolated following one passage in CM at 150 to 1000 (mu)g/mL. Isogenic strains, selected on CM at 150 and 500 (mu)g/mL were chosen for detailed study. Resistance was not a consequence of drug detoxification or altered sensitivity of the target site. The resistant strains exhibited unusual phenotypic properties including pronounced variations in growth rate, CM susceptibility and cell morphology as a function of the composition of the growth medium. Growth in CM …  Read more