McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par J

Pia Wintermark (Supervisor1)  Read more

Dans les modèles d'équations structurales avec des variables latentes, l'estimation demaximum devraisemblance est la méthode d'estimation la plus utilisée. Par contre, la méthode de maximum devraisemblance souvent ne réussit pas á fournir des solutions exactes, par exemple lorsque les échantillons sont petits, les données ne sont pas normale, ou lorsque le modèle est mal specifié. L'estimation des moindres carrés á deux-phases est asymptotiquement sans distribution et robuste contre mauvaises spécifications, mais elle manque de robustesse quand les chantillons sont petits. Afin de surmonter les trois difficultés mentionnés ci-dessus et d'obtenir une estimation plus exacte, des extensions régularisées des moindres carrés …  Read more

To examine bat - habitat relationships, ultrasonic detectors were used to sample bat activity among: old-growth white pine (Pinus strobus ), mature white pine, boreal mixedwood, and selectively-cut white pine stands in central Ontario. Within the stands, bats were sampled in the canopy, the understory layer, and within canopy gaps. Forest structure was measured within each of the stands. The activity of bats was compared among forest stand types, within the stands, and in relation to forest structure. Also, maintaining forest wildlife populations requires data on the use of snags (i.e. dead trees). To provide further resolution of the habitat …  Read more

Cette thèse traite de l'identification et de la classification des traditions de construction coréennes qui ont conduit à l'invention d'une "architecture moderne" coréenne lors de la colonisation japonaise de la Corée au début du 20e siècle. La recherche prouve d'abord que ces identification et classification, et la connaissance qu'elles produisent, en particulier celle de Tadashi Sekino, avait un contexte historique; elle a émergé en relation aux conditions politiques rapidement changeantes qui ont marqué la relation du Japon avec l'Occident à partir du milieu des années 1910.Cette contextualisation générale est suivie par un examen de la minka coréenne [habitation vernaculaire] et …  Read more

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is predominantly found in foods of ruminant origin such as milk and processed cheese, and has gained much interest recently due to its beneficial health and biological effects on animals and humans. The bioconversion of linoleic acid (LA) and linolenic acid (LNA) by a selected Bifidobacterium from healthy infant feces was studied. Bifidobacterium breve JKL03 had the ability to convert linolenic acid (0.2 mg/ml) to CLNA in fermentation of skim milk medium for 24 h up to a yield of 72.0% (up to 74.7% under aerobic conditions) and linoleic acid (0.2 mg/ml) into CLA by fermentation …  Read more

La force est un facteur important pour réduire le risque de blessure en ski alpin, cependant, les données probantes sur la quantification de la force chez les skieurs sous-élites restent limitées. Cette thèse a étudié les paramètres de force des membres inférieurs chez des skieurs alpins sous-élites masculins et féminins en utilisant la dynamométrie isocinétique et des tests sur plateformes de force. Ces paramètres de force ont aussi été comparés selon le sexe et le niveau de compétence, et finalement le niveau de corrélation entre les mesures de dynamométrie isocinétique et celles des plateformes de force a été exploré avec …  Read more

This work examines the socio-economic context of the small town of Eichelborn in the Westphalia region of Germany. There, a local and 'moral' economy existed until the end of the 1960's that resisted the forces of integration into a wider self-regulatory market system for an exceptionally long time, continuing to rely primarily on simple craft production and small-scale farming for the local market. Employing mainly qualitative methods, the aim of research was to describe the economic and social structure of this place as well as to determine whether it functioned according to the principles of a pre-market society as indicated …  Read more

The kinetic and specificity properties of a highly purified fraction of pancreatic DN'ase (DN'ase A) were re-evaluated in the presence of most divalent metal cations. The enzyme was stabilized by inhibition of proteolytic contaminants with FDP and purified by phosphocellulose chromatography. A column chromatographic method was developed for the fractionation of oligonucleotides according to chain length up to the pentadecanucleotide level. Methods of fractionation according to base composition were developed for nucleosides and nucleotides, all possible non-isomeric dinucleotides and 14 of the 20 possible non-isomeric trinucleotides. The specificity of the enzyme was studied by analysis of the 5' or 3' …  Read more

In patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, the standard immunotherapy involves intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG). However, its success requires repeated doses, and ∼50% of patients do not benefit. Using a preclinical orthotopic bladder cancer model, we found that a single intravesical dose of combined BCG and β-glucan immunotherapy eradicated aggressive tumors, resulting in 100% survival. Through single cell transcriptomic/epigenomic analysis, flow cytometry, and intravital imaging, we show that BCG and β-glucan reprogrammed hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells with imprinting in innate immune cells, particularly neutrophils. Reprogrammed neutrophils exhibited increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and infiltration into the tumor core, …  Read more

Introduction:Le mécanisme principal par lequel les cellules souches mésenchymateuses (CSM) facilitent la réparation du myocarde reste non confirmé. Les rapports suggèrent que les CSM s'adaptent au microenvironnement de la zone d'infarctus et répondent en sécrétant un profil spécialisé de facteurs paracrins (secrétôme) qui facilitent la survie du myocarde. L'interleukine-6 (IL-6) - une cytokine abondante dans la zone d'infarctus - est hypothétique pour stimuler cette activité paracrine en liant CD-126 sur les CSM. L'étude actuelle explore ce potentiel de préservation médié par IL-6.Méthodes:A travers la culture cellulaire, un secrétôme physiologique de CSM de la moelle osseuse du rat (CSM-MOr) a été …  Read more

This paper compares the arbitral procedures used in different legal systems and evaluates their suitability for international intellectual property disputes. By doing so, it will identify many obstacles to the realization of an international arbitral regime responding to intellectual property disputes.  Read more

Cette étude examine comment les glissements de terrain des berges fluviales (barrancos) façonnent la vie des communautés rurales dans l’Amazonie péruvienne. Elle se concentre sur les expériences de réinstallation de Nuevo Ucayali, qui s’est repliée après un glissement de terrain en 2021, et de Brisas de Abancay, qui a été relocalisée à la suite d’un glissement survenu en 2009. En analysant les changements d’accès aux ressources et les réponses communautaires, cette recherche contribue aux débats sur les déplacements climatiques et l’adaptation. Les deux communautés disposaient de peu d’options, s’appuyant sur le repli et l’adaptation en l’absence de mesures de protection …  Read more

Across organisms, adaptation to metabolic stress requires precise communication between tissues to preserve cellular integrity and reproductive potential. In Caenorhabditis elegans, adverse environmental conditions trigger entry into the dauer diapause, a developmentally quiescent state that enables long-term survival. During this period, germline stem cells must remain arrested to safeguard germline integrity. The establishment and maintenance of this arrest depend on coordinated metabolic, post-transcriptional, and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms. Central to this process is the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a master metabolic regulator. Animals lacking AMPK fail to properly adapt to the demands of the dauer stage, exhibiting germline hyperproliferation, gene regulatory …  Read more

The main objectives of this project were to design, characterize and optimize a gas-liquid atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor and to investigate its potential to degrade an aqueous pharmaceutical compound. The liquid was sandwiched inside a parallel plate semi-batch DBD reactor and thus, directly exposed to the plasma-forming region. The application of 10 kV (17.5 kHz) at low peak current (55 mA) between the high-voltage electrode, resting on an alumina plate, and the solution induced microdischarges in the gas phase and agitated the solution. The dissipated power (55 W on average) was monitored from the measure of Lissajous …  Read more

Transposons, also known as transposable elements (TEs), are genetic elements capable of changing their location in the genome and amplifying in number. Because of their ability to cause mutations in the host genome, often with detrimental consequences to the host, yet avoid being eliminated by natural selection, transposons have been labeled selfish elements or genomic parasites. However, the advent of genomics has allowed the identification of numerous instances where transposons have played a crucial role in host genome evolution. In this thesis, I evaluate the extent to which transposons have influenced the genomes of their hosts, with an emphasis on …  Read more

David, Robert James (Supervisor1)  Read more

Both in Canada and in the United States the law disadvantages gay men and lesbians. This master's thesis considers whether the guarantee of equality in the U.S. Constitution and in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms can change this situation. The first part argues that in theory the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause provides a promising basis for challenges to policies and statutes that discriminate against gays. Nevertheless, these challenges are unlikely to be successful because most U.S. courts fail to see beyond the stereotypes that prevent homosexuals from gaining access to their civil rights. The second part contends …  Read more

The Buxheim Organ Book, the largest fifteenth-century manuscript of keyboard tablature, has never before been examined as a whole in light of musica ficta issues, although it contains far more accidentals than any contemporaneous source in mensural notation. Although tablature has been used by various scholars to examine accidentals in sixteenth-century music, studies of fifteenth-century accidentals have focussed on theoretical evidence and small groups of pieces from mensural sources. The author uses the Buxheim Organ Book to extend the investigations of accidentals in tablature back into the fifteenth century, combining the large data set provided by this manuscript with a …  Read more

Les infections chroniques des voies respiratoires causées par la bactérie Pseudomonas aeruginosa sont la principale cause de mortalité chez les personnes atteintes de fibrose kystique (FK) et restent impossible à éradiquer. Dans le poumon FK, P. aeruginosa subit des modifications génétiques qui renforcent sa capacité à causer des infections persistantes. Une adaptation commune observée dans plus de 80% des isolats de P. aeruginosa issus d’infections chroniques est la perte du système de sécrétion de type III (SST3). Bien que P. aeruginosa soit traditionnellement considéré comme une bactérie extracellulaire, P. aeruginosa peut enhavir and survivre dans differents cellules épithéliales, y compris …  Read more

This thesis deals with violence in the language of Timothy Findley's work: both the language of narration and the language of dialogue between the characters. In the thesis, I will examine the way language is violated for the purpose of re-assembling it into a more competent vehicle for communication. Bakhtin's theory of dialogics and Robert Kroetsch's theory of violent silence will be examined with regard to Findley's consistent focus on the way language must be violated to render it useful, and why any character of Findley's who refuses to violate language and chooses instead to submit to silence, is destroyed. …  Read more

Pruessner, Jens (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Pruessner, Jens (Supervisor2)  Read more

Accurate and efficient array dependence analysis is a crucial phase of optimizing/parallelizing compilers. The results of array dependence analysis are required for many automatic parallelism detection analyses and transformations. This thesis is concerned with the development of a dependence analysis for a certain class of loopnests in the imperative programming language C. In particular, this thesis addresses the problems of incorporating such a framework in a language that supports pointers. We propose a practical and efficient dependence testing framework built upon previously existing methods. To perform any dependence testing, a support analysis is required in order to establish a suitable …  Read more

Second-generation East Indian women represent a visible ethnic minority group in need of culturally sensitive research to facilitate an understanding of their integration into Canadian society. There is a scarcity of systematic qualitative inquires into the experience of this contemporary second-generation population within a North American context. Hence, the primary objective of this study is to understand the bicultural experience of a select group of second-generation East Indian women using a focused ethnography as a research tool. The central questions guiding this inquiry are (a) What are the salient aspects in the subjective experience of second-generation East Indian women as …  Read more

Granule-laden astroglia accumulate with normal aging in several brain regions. Chronic treatment with cysteamine (CSH), a drug which depletes somatostatin (SS), produces accelerated astorcytic granule accumulation in rat hippocampus homologous to that observed in the aging brain. Behavioral tests performed following CSH administration have always been done with CSH present in the animals' systems and have shown cognitive deficits and decreases in locomotor activity, both of which have been attributed to the depletion of SS by CSH. Since chronic CSH exposure will also produce neuropathological changes in hippocampal astrocytes, we tested animals' spatial learning/memory and motor functioning at two time …  Read more

Trade in similar products or intra-industry trade results from scale economies and consumer preferences, rather than from conventional forces of comparative advantage. This paper attempts to quantify the importance of intra-industry exchange between Canada and the United States. The analysis deals primarily with measurement, but an attempt to identify the determinants of the phenomenon is also made. The results suggest that intra-industry trade represents a significant and increasing share of Canada's trade with the United States. Although part of this can be explained by idiosyncratic causes, the importance of two-way trade within manufacturing requires additional explanation.  Read more

La 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3),la forme biologiquement active de la vitamine D, est une hormone pleiotropique liposoluble qui régule l'homéostasie du calcium via l'activationtranscriptionelle de gènes par l'intermédiaire du récepteur a la vitamine D(RVD).Plus récemment, des actions nouvelles et puissantes ont été découvertes incluant des effets cellulaires pro-différentiateurs, antiprolifératifs par arrêt de la croissance et induction de l'apoptose dans un grand nombre de cellules normales et cancéreuses.Le régulateur majeur connu de l'activité biologique de la 1,25(OH)2D3 est le RVD nucléaire (n RVD) complexé à son hèrodimère le récepteur rétinoïde X(RRX).La liaison de la 1,25(OH)2D3 au RVD augmente l'hétèrodimerization du complexe RVD/RRX …  Read more

Biron, Michel (Supervisor1)  Read more

Vraisemblablement en raison de l'origine même de l'assurance et de son développement économique en Angleterre et Amérique du Nord, tout un chacun prétend que le droit des assurances québécois origine de la common law. En conséquence, le droit québécois est fortement influencé par celle-ci alors qu'il s'agit pourtant de droit civil incorporé au Code civil du Québec. Cette étude a comme objectif de démontrer que les sources du droit québécois des assurances ne proviennent pas exclusivement ni même principalement de la common law, mais plutôt de diverses sources. Elle vise également à critiquer l'importation de la common law dans le …  Read more

L'effet de la glace de mer sur les mouvements inertiels dans l'Océan Arctique est analys é à l'aide du modèle de circulation globale du MIT (MITgcm). On trouve de plus importantes oscillations inertielles dans la glace dans les zones faibles en glace. Dans ces zones, la glace entraîne l'océan sous-jacent dans des mouvements circulaires, générant des ondes inertielles dans la couche de mélange. À la base de la couche de mélange, le fort cisaillement entraîne un approfondissement de la couche et la forte stratification rend la composante verticale de l'oscillation inertielle plus forte, créant des ondes internes de gravité. Lorsque …  Read more

Dufour, Carolina (Supervisor1)  Read more

Les conditions urbaines créent un milieu rude qui limite la croissance des arbres sur rue. Cette situation est préoccupante pour les administrations municipales qui investissent des sommes considérables dans leur programme arboricole. Afin de protéger adéquatement ce riche héritage, trois importantes actions doivent être entreprises. Premièrement, il y a lieu d'identifier des paramètres d'inventaire qui caractérisent au mieux le développement des arbres sur rue. Deuxièmement, afin d'appréhender la complexité des relations entre la croissance des arbres et les conditions environnementales, il est impérieux de définir une méthode analytique permettant le classement des arbres dans des groupes à croissance similaire. Enfin, …  Read more

Embryo segmentation is the sequential partition of the embryo into smaller, similar units, each with a specific function. One particular segmentation process is the formation of the vertebrae precursors, called somites. During somite formation, temporal genetic oscillations inside single cells are translated into a stable spatial pattern of gene expression across an embryonic tissue. This thesis aims to contribute to the theory of somite formation through the elaboration and refinement of somite formation models. To build and refine such models, I employ a geometric approach, in the sense that I move away from complicated gene networks and instead strive for …  Read more

Yang, Yi (Supervisor2)  Read more

Cox, Joseph (Supervisor2)  Read more

Les dommages au système nerveux central (SNC) observés lors des maladies dégénératives ou suite à une lésion aiguë sont marqués par la neuroinflammation. La neuroinflammation est dichotomique, car elle peut avoir un impact tant positif que négatif sur la réparation et la régénération des neurones. Dans cette thèse, nous élucidons comment les neurones réagissent à l’inflammation pathologique et positive, dans le but de développer des stratégies qui favorisent la réparation et la régénération du SNC. Ici, nous utilisons des modèles de neuroinflammation pour investiguer l’expression des microARNs et pour élucider la réponse moléculaire des neurones. Les microARNs sont de puissants …  Read more

"Sur le chemin de Jerusalem" is the comprehensive examination of three unknown mosaic pavements, exhibited in the Museum of Maaret-en-Nouman in Northern Syria. A comparison with other known documents brings together elements of evidence to their provenance, to the type of building they had adorned, and to the underlying links between architectural organization and mosaic ornamental decoration in an ecclesiastic environment. The picture catalogue detailing the size and composition of each of the three mosaics dates the iconographic material from the third quarter of the fourth century to the first half of the fifth century, that period in time which …  Read more

Legalization of cannabis has spurred research aimed towards improving cannabinoidextraction efficiency, with solvent-based extraction still being a prominent method in theindustry. The objective of this study was to optimize a centrifugal extraction system for betteryield and improved solvent recovery.The optimization focused on two parameters: particle size and agitation time for coldethanol (-40°C) extraction of cannabinoids. Specifically, three particle sizes; fine (< 582μm), medium (582-1184 μm) and coarse (> 1184 μm), were analysed for three agitation times (5,13 and 21 minutes). A face-centered central composite design (FCCD) from Response SurfaceMethodology (RSM) was applied to develop predictive models and assess statistical significancethrough …  Read more

A theoretical and experimental investigation has been carried out to study the effect of curvature of the cowling lip on the expansion in a plug nozzle at the Mach number 1.50. In the theoretical phase of this investigation, the design of the profile of plug nozzle is based on expansion waves emanating from a cowling lip surface of variable radius of curvature, applying graphical and finite difference methods. [...]  Read more