McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par O

The symbolism of the heavenly, represented in the Temple of Jerusalem, has inspired diverse interpretations of both mystical and archaeological type. The reconstruction by the Jesuit, Juan Bautista Villalpando (1552--1608), which took place amidst hermetic teachings, vitruvian norms, and in a religious Spain, merges all these aspects into a harmonious order that spawns a model of perfect architecture as well as the consummate religious edifice. In this vision of the Temple, deciphered from the prophet Ezechiel's abstract and messianic description, the ideal order of divine creation is drawn. Villalpando's drawings and explanations aim to reconcile the sublime in geometry with …  Read more

This thesis evaluates the arguments for replacing antidumping laws with competition laws or, alternatively, for recasting antidumping laws in the pattern of competition laws. The work discusses the objectives and criteria used in antidumping and antitrust cases. It highlights the harmful and chilling effects of antidumping sanctions. It is a study of whether antidumping laws should be replaced by either supra national (Competition laws) or harmonised domestic antitrust regimes, which penalise international predatory pricing without at the same time penalising non-predatory international price discrimination. It is suggested that progressive reforms of antidumping rules should become an agenda item of all …  Read more

In developing neurons, calcium (Ca2+) influx through NMDA-selective ionotropic glutamate receptors is central to neuronal maturation. However, not all cells express NMDA receptors (NMDARs), suggesting that other Ca2+-permeable glutamate receptors may be important to consider. In particular, Ca2+-permeable AMPA receptors (CP-AMPARs) are expressed throughout the adult central nervous system, but their role in development remains poorly understood. Here, we employed a modified cobalt staining technique to assay the presence of CP-AMPARs in living neurons, in combination with electrophysiology. We identified two inhibitory retinal cells, horizontal cells (HC) and AII amacrine cells, which though devoid of NMDARs express CP-AMPARs. We found …  Read more

Fung, Joyce (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Bone mineralization is a critical molecular mechanism of bone remodelling that deposits minerals onto the organic matrix of bone. In the tightly-coupled process, osteoclasts degrade the inorganic matrix by increasing H+ ions in the bone extracellular matrix, and osteoblasts form the mineralized tissue by controlling the local balance of Ca2+ and PO43- ion. The process of precipitating hydroxyapatite (HaP) mineral and the mechanisms of its regulation within bone are not yet fully understood; however, cellular, extracellular, and physicochemical events play a role in the remodelling process. The goal of this study was to investigate how the specific role of physicochemical …  Read more

Chez les patients atteints de maladies pulmonaires chroniques, la moisissure Aspergillus fumigatus et la bactérie Pseudomonas aeruginosa sont capable de coloniser les voies respiratoires en s'incrustant dans des biofilms autoproduits. Le co-isolement fréquent de ces organismes suggère une interaction possible entre ces espèces. La formation de biofilms par ces organismes est permise par la production respective des exopolysaccharides galactosaminogalactane (GAG), et Pel/Psl. GAG et Pel sont des polymères riches en N-acétyl-D-galactosamine, et sont partiellement dé-N-acétylés entraînant la formation de polymères polycationiques. Cette propriété est acquise par l’action de leur déacétylase respective, l’enzyme fongique sécrétée Agd3 et la déacétylase périplasmique bactérienne …  Read more

Cohen, Ronald.  Read more

Perfluorinated carboxylates (PFCAs), sulfonates (PFSs) and perfluoroalkylsulfonamides (PFOSAs) have been detected in whole blood and serum of non-occupationally exposed humans, yet sources of exposure have not been fully elucidated. The objectives of this study were to estimate dietary exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), PFCAs (C7--C 11) and fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylates (FTUCAs) for the general Canadian and Inuit populations prior to the phase-out of perfluorooctyl-sulfonyl production by 3M and voluntary reductions in PFOA emissions under the PFOA stewardship program. PFCs were measured in 65 archived composite food samples prepared for the 1998 Canadian Total Diet Study (TDS) and 68 archived traditional …  Read more

There is substantial evidence that young children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate delays in joint attention development. However, research also documents that abnormalities in earlier-occurring dyadic behaviours contribute to children's delay in establishing triadic joint attention. Although children with autism demonstrate atypical eye contact during dyadic interactions, little is known about the development of this skill among young children with autism. Across two studies, the current project examined gaze perception in young children with an ASD in relation to their developing social and communication skills. The first manuscript used a novel, computerized task to compare the gaze detection …  Read more

The developmental trajectory of basic numerical skills and sequential processing was systematically investigated among a sample of 5 to 11-year-old typically developing boys. Performance was defined in terms of reaction times and error rates during novel computerized tasks that measured sequential and numerical concepts related to cardinality and ordinal knowledge. Analyses revealed that fast and accurate performance was attributable to children at older ages. At younger ages, task manipulations exclusively related to ordinal relationships demonstrated a significant influence over error rates. Furthermore, nonverbal intelligence predicted a significant amount of the variance related to an understanding of the ordinal properties of …  Read more

The relationships between various civic virtues and participation in community groups were explored. The present thesis was not an exhaustive integration of theories on Civic Virtue. Rather, it highlighted virtues (i.e., authenticity, moral wisdom, trust, reciprocity and tolerance) selected for their value in educating members of social capital groups toward a broader understanding of the self and others in a deliberative, pluralist democracy. This thesis relied primarily on theories from the disciplines of political philosophy and philosophy of education. Three major conclusions emerged from the present investigation. First, schools are not the only venue in which education for civic virtue …  Read more

Although he apparently never used it himself, Fick in 1870 elaborated the well known principle, bearing his name, for measuring cardiac output. He expressed it in the same form as it is presently used, i.e. that if one knows the amount of oxygen taken up by the lungs per unit time (or the amount of carbon dioxide eliminated also per unit time) and the difference in concentrations of oxygen (or carbon dioxide) between the arterial and the venous blood, then one can calculate the amount of blood flowing through the lung during that time. [...]  Read more

Codes for the calculation of magnetic field distributions in two and three dimensions are now widely available; however, they generally do not permit to account for phenomena such as hysteresis remanence and anisotropy. The modeling of these phenomena is important in the design of power devices and essential in magnetic recording technology. In this thesis, magneto-statics is formulated without making any superfluous assumption about the constitutive relation. The nature of the relation between M and H is thoroughly discussed and computationally tractable models of this same relation are critically examined. The difficulties inherent to the application of the finite element …  Read more

L'imagerie mentale, soit le processus par lequel l'information sensorielle est représentée dans la mémoire de travail (Macinnis et Price 1987), joue un rôle important en persuasion, même s'il n'est pas encore pleinement compris. En trois essais, cette dissertation contribue à l'étude de l'imagerie mentale comme moyen de persuasion. L'essai I étudie comment l'efficacité de messages évoquant une imagerie peut être renforcée à l'aide de procédures d'amorçage. Deux études suggères que le fait d'effectuer une tâche qui élicite une image mentale (ex.: lire une description de produit qui évoque une imagerie), contrairement à une tâche abstraite (ex.: lire des évaluations d'un …  Read more

In this thesis a microdynamics theory of structured solids is formulated on the basis of probabilistic functional analysis. The theory which is developed on the principles of probabilistic micromechanics, introduces from the onset spatial and temporal scales relevant in the dynamic analysis. A general formulation of the microdynamics of a three-dimensional solid is given in terms of an abstract dynamical system; the analysis is then specialized to the kinematic subspace of the general state space, whereby the former is found to possess the topological structure of a Hilbertian-Sobolev space. The abstract dynamical system in the microdynamics theory is developed explicitly …  Read more

Suicide is a worldwide challenge that is associated with an interactive multitude of health, social, environmental and familial factors. In spite of promising advances in research aimed at unraveling the complexity of this distressing behaviour, suicide continues to impact many individuals and families and is considered as one of the principal causes of morbidity and mortality. Evidence from numerous studies has demonstrated childhood traumatic experiences as relevant risk factors for adult psychopathology and suicidal behaviour. Yet, not many research groups studying suicide have directly investigated the relationship between histories of childhood maltreatment and completed suicides. There appears to be a …  Read more

The narrative of Horacio Castellanos Moya constitutes an anomaly in the field of contemporary Latin American literature in the sense that it exceeds the aesthetic parameters of pre-existing genres and resists easy classification according to the categories established by the region’s literary criticism and theory. Throughout this dissertation, I argue that Castellanos Moya develops alternate modes of narrating political violence in the region’s recent past and, in doing so, inaugurates new subject positions for Latin American public intellectuals and recalibrates the long-standing relationship between literature and politics in the region. These innovations, in turn, have had far-reaching repercussions in the …  Read more

Katsarkas, A. (Supervisor)  Read more

Wheeled mobile robots (WMR) belong to the class of coupled mechanical systems with rolling kinematic constraints linear in the generalized velocities. In order to derive the mathematical model of this class of robots, we outline first the analysis of mechanical systems with such constraints using a Lagrangian formulation. In the process of constraint-force elimination and dimension-reduction, a matrix that appears to play a relevant role arises. We call it the holonomy matrix. It is shown that necessary and sufficient conditions for the integrability of the constraints are readily derived using the holonomy matrix. In the same vein, a class of …  Read more

Hensley, David (Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis analyses legislative and judicial responses to parallel importation, a practice that pits intellectual property rights against the freedom of trade. Parallel importation involves the sale of genuine products holding intellectual property rights which have been imported into a country without the authorization of the IP rightholder. This practice is opposed by those who claim that their rights are infringed. The author examines responses in Canada, the United States of America, and the European Union, and finds that they are not consistent. The author questions the applicability of using intellectual property rights to stop parallel importation and whether such …  Read more

A commercial OSL dosimetry system was investigated for passive in vivo dosimetry in radiationtherapy. Al2O3:C OSLDs have been characterized by various authors and researchers,however an AAPM protocol for its clinical use is still in progress. In this work, a system ofnanoDots with the microStar reader (Landauer Inc.) was tested using typical radiotherapybeams in our clinic. The goal was to fully characterize the system and determine all thenecessary correction factors for accurate patient dose measurements. The results demonstratethat our OSLD system is a valid alternative to already established in vivo dosimetrymethods in our clinic.  Read more

Un modèle de résilience écologique de l'écosystème amazonien a été développé, intégrant des processus tels que le couplage atmosphère-biosphère avec des facteurs de perturbation tels que le feu et les changements climatiques. L'objectif de cette étude était d'évaluer l'état des écosystèmes dans l'état du Mato Grosso. Une possible transition de la forêt à la savane a été examinée en utilisant des données de télédétection. Il y a eu une réduction de l'EVI pendant la saison sèche dans le Mato Grosso, de mai à août pour chaque année d'étude. La sécheresse de 2005 a provoqué une réduction de l'EVI plus importante …  Read more

The purpose of this thesis is to clarify what the international regulatory techniques governing Transborder Data Flows (TDF) should be. This thesis deals mainly with the concepts and implementation of rules relating to the protection of privacy and transborder flows of personal data, as adopted by two international organizations, namely the OECD and the Council of Europe. The focus of this study is on the influence of two instruments adopted in 1980 (namely the OECD Guidelines and the CoE Convention), on the national data protection policies of the member states. A further section is devoted to reviewing their impact on …  Read more

The use of existing packaging techniques for microelectronics are studied in terms of their applicability to the packaging of optoelectronic device arrays for photonic inter-connect applications. In particular, the packaging of smart pixel arrays for free-space optical backplanes is quantitatively explored. This assessment is made from three basic perspectives: thermal management capabilities, connectivity and bandwidth, and alignment to a free-space optical system. In the assessment, a smart pixel array design space analysis is derived which shows that, by constraining the smart pixel array characteristics, the use of existing packaging technologies is possible. This leads to the derivation of expressions which …  Read more

This thesis is an attempt to provide a theoretical and empirical model of the reserve holding behaviour of developing countries in the context of their efforts at economic development. In principle, the basic determinants of desired level of reserves turn out to be not only the levels of such variables as exports, aid/capital flows, lines of credit and the opportunity cost of holding reserves, but also the standard deviation of these variables. In order to make the theory amenable to empirical testing, use is made of an adjustment mechanism by which countries adjust their actual stocks of reserves to their …  Read more

Il y a un intérêt augmentant pour les avantages de l'environnement fournis par les écosystèmes. Parmi la large gamme de services de l'environnement, les services hydrologiques sont importants non seulement parce qu'ils affectent tous les secteurs de conduite humaine, mais parce qu'ils sont de près attachés à d'autres services comme les réserves d'aliments et la mise sous séquestre de carbone. Les investissements dans l'administration de ligne de partage des eaux et le développement de nouveaux stimulants du marché ont de l'importance augmentante dans les régions tant tempérées que tropicales. Un des mécanismes qui ont été fortement promus est l'adoption de …  Read more

Spahija, Jadranka (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

This dissertation presents a critical analysis of literary texts that recount fully or briefly the life and legend of King Numa Pompilius. Focusing on the 'Golden Age', it comprises the Numan accounts of Cicero, Livy, Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Ovid. These authors lived at a time when Rome was trying to reconcile for herself and for her subjects the price of her military world domination with the belief in her foreordained supremacy. This reconciliation was to be achieved by a reacquaintance with the Roman ancestral values whose observance had merited Rome her dominion and whose neglect had driven the state …  Read more

La logique linéaire represente une structure élégante pour modeler des systèmes im- pératifs, concurrents et avec des systèmes a états, en représentant un contexte d'hypothèses comme une collection de ressources. Cependant, la mécanisation de la métathéorie de ces systèmes demeure un défi, puisque nous devons gérer et raisonner à propos de contextes d'hypothèses mixtes linéaires et intuitionistiques. Nous présentons Lincx, une structure logique linéaire et contextuelle avec des contextes mixtes de première classe. Lincx nous permet d'établir des modèles (linéaires) d'arbres de syntaxe abstraits en tant que structures syntactiques qui peuvent dependre d'hypothèses intuitionistiques et linéaires. Lincx peut également servir …  Read more

Pour limiter l'envergure des changements climatiques ainsi que leurs impacts, une transition rapide vers des systèmes énergétiques sans émissions nettes de gaz à effet de serre est nécessaire. Cela implique l’abandon progressif de la combustion des carburants fossiles au profit d’un système énergétique dominé par l’électricité, principalement produite à partir de sources d’énergie renouvelables telles que le solaire et l’éolien. Dans ces systèmes, l’intermittence de la production d’électricité solaire et éolienne nécessite le stockage local de l’électricité à court terme, mais le rôle du stockage d’énergie de longue durée ou de l’échange d’énergie sur de longues distances varie selon les …  Read more

Pavlasek, Tomas J. F.  Read more

Field and laboratory investigations were conducted in Burkina Faso to diagnose the causes of severe outbreaks of Bemisia tabaci populations and gênerai failures of chemical control against this pest in cotton. Field and laboratory investigations were conducted in Burkina Faso to diagnose the causes of severe outbreaks of Bemisia tabaci populations and general failures of chemical control against this pest in cotton. The research efforts were oriented in the following three areas: I) the susceptibility of B. tabaci populations and its parasitoids to cotton insecticides; I) the susceptibility of B. tabaci populations and its parasitoids to cotton insecticides, a) conventional …  Read more

The potential of Smicronyx umbrinus Hustache and Smicronyx guineanus Voss (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) as biocontrol agents of Striga hermonthica (Del) Benth was investigated at both population levels of Striga and Smicronyx spp. in the field in Burkina Faso. High population levels of Smicronyx spp. resulted in higher percentages of seed-pod galls although the weevils' adult populations decreased during S. hermonthica seed capsule production. Smicronyx spp. were observed galling Striga aspera (Willd) Benth capsules ca. 60 days before S. hermonthica emerged in sorghum fields. The weevils also galled S. hermonthica stems at soil level and Sm. umbrinus was found to be the …  Read more

We present storage organization schemes and a tuple density model of a relation, for the efficient processing of information in a relational database. The underlying concept used in the design of the storage schemes and the density model is that of a multidimensional array. These organizational schemes are: Multidimensional Paging, Dynamic Multipaging, and two dynamic multidimensional hashing schemes, DMHL and DMHE. The DMHL and DMHE schemes are the respective extensions of linear hashing and extendible hashing for multidimensional data organization. Storage mapping functions for extendible arrays are developed as the page addressing functions in the dynamic multidimensional structures. Performance of …  Read more

Cette thèse réexamine la Commedia de Dante Alighieri à travers une approche interdisciplinaire, combinant l’analyse philologique et la reconstruction historiographique. Elle cherche à révéler la figure de l'auteur implicite et à mieux comprendre les choix narratifs en relation avec les expériences biographiques de l’auteur empirique. S’écartant des lectures traditionnelles centrées sur les aspects littéraires, philosophiques, et théologiques, la thèse soutient que la Commedia de Dante n’est pas simplement un voyage métaphysique, mais aussi un véhicule de construction politique et biographique de soi.En comparant le poème de Dante avec les chroniques médiévales, l'étude propose un nouveau cadre interprétatif, considérant la Commedia …  Read more

Le but de ce projet de maîtrise était d'explorer les composantes spécifiques du sexe/genre liées à la réponse à la douleur suivant une fatigue induite au niveau du coup/épaule ainsi qu'examiner la relation entre les caractéristiques musculaires et perceptuelles de cette fatigue. Avant et après avoir exécuté la tâche fatiguant la région du coup/épaule, les participants de cette étude ont été soumis à un test de tolérance de douleur avec un algomètre de pression, et ont également rempli des questionnaires. Des données électromyographiques ainsi qu'une mesure de la perception de l'effort ont également été recueillies tout au long cette tâche. …  Read more