McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par R

In this work, we explore the possibility of combining information from the VAD technique, with data from a wind profiler, to obtain the kinematic properties of a linear 2-D wind field. The idea is first tested on an artificial test-bed wind field, and the results show that the procedure is limited by the degree of non-linearity of the wind field over the wind profiler. To overcome this problem, some modifications are made to our procedure, which is then applied to real cases of stratiform precipitation. We find that the non-linearities are important enough such that the linear approximation is only …  Read more

The orientation of human erythrocyte membrane proteins was examined using the following techniques: i. lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination of the external surface with l25I and the cytoplasmic surface with 131I followed by proteolytic digestion of either the external surface (resealed ghosts) or cytoplasmic surface (inside-out vesicles), ii. phosphorylation of inside-out vesicles with alpha-32P-ATP in conjunction with alkaline phosphatase treatment; and iii. phospholipase C treatment of intact cells followed by enzymic iodination. Protein analysis by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed several peaks of radioactivity whose orientation was as follows: i. a ~100,000 molecular weight component spanning the membrane asymmetrically; ii. the major glycoprotein …  Read more

Cellulose oxidations are of interest because they impair the physical properties of papers and cotton textiles and occur, sometimes in bleaching and dyeing, and always during exposure to light, air, and moisture over long periods of time. With the exception of a few cases, the detailed nature of the reactions involved in mild or drastic oxidations is still obscure, although it has long been known that oxidation forms acidic and reducing groups in some of the glucose units that comprise the long macromolecules of cellulose.  Read more

Adair, E. (Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis is not an addition to the overwhelming number of guide-books to the town of Quebec. Nor is it a survey of Canadian history in the seventeenth century. All I have tried to do here is to make an impartial study of the life and growth of Quebec from 1608 to 1703, and to reach my own conclusions on the genuine importance of the town. My research has necessarily been confined to sources located in Canada. This means that many documents which might have thrown light on Quebec’s importance to France and to the French West Indies have been …  Read more

Ricciardi, Anthony (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Secondary, or AA, amyloidosis is a systemic disease characterized by the extracellular tissue deposition of insoluble, fibrillar amyloid A protein. Aberrant metabolism of serum amyloid A protein by reticuloendothelial cells in the presence of amyloid enhancing factor (AEF) is thought to result in the accumulation of fibrils within the tissue. Treatment of mice with AEF, in conjunction with an inflammatory stimulus, induces amyloid deposition within 48-72 hours. In vivo examination of the effect of AEF on spleen macrophage activation-associated phenotype and functions reveal that AEF has no apparent effect on the ability of spleen and liver macrophages to phagocytose or …  Read more

Biological response is characterized by variation: different organisms do not react in exactly the same way to identical situations; nor do individual organisms, on different occasions. Such lack of uniformity of response causes many difficulties in the interpretation of biological data. This has resulted in the development, in recent years, of special techniques for obtaining and analyzing experimental results. In particular, there has been great improvement in experimental designs, to which modern statistical methods may be applied in a satisfactory manner. While some statistical techniques have long been recognized as valuable in the reduction of large masses of data to …  Read more

Le rôle joué par la littératie religieuse dans l’atteinte des objectifs éducatifs a reçu une attention croissante dans la recherche en éducation des dernières décennies. Toutefois, les connaissances des façons dont la littératie religieuse peut doter les futurs enseignants des habiletés et des savoirs nécessaires à une citoyenneté critique et orientée vers la justice sociale sont manquantes. Une étude de cas empirique réalisée parmi des membres de la faculté et des enseignants en formation d’une université donnée des prairies canadiennes m’a permis d’interroger les façons dont ces participants prennent en compte la diversité religieuse dans la salle de classe et …  Read more

The intent of this thesis is to explore the various ways in which acupuncturists trained in Quebec interpret and use the term qi in their practice as healers. It argues that these choices are influenced by the implicit connection between complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and New Age spirituality. As Asian medical systems such as Chinese medicine carve out a niche within the dominant biomedical health-care system, there is a simultaneous desire to present its medical system as scientifically coherent within the biomedical context and a desire to cater to the New Age orientalist fascination with "traditional" Asian medicine and …  Read more

Classical organic chemistry was inclined to consider dimerisation - the initial step of polymerisation - as involving two fundamentally different processes. The first treated of those unions wherein the component atoms were bound in the same manner as in the monomolecular substance. By this process rings of four, six, or eight carbon atoms were postulated as being-formed, through a valence redistribution. This was termed the true polymerisation process. The second class concerned those combinations whose formation involved a shift of atoms. Such were called condensing, or linear polymerisations. [...]  Read more

During the whole period of their life in Russia the Doukhobors were an illiterate sect, who appeared to scorn to set their carefully preserved beliefs and traditions on paper. It would seem, however, that this practice of preserving their quasi-historical and religious teachings in their memories, and passing them on by word of mouth, was a result of their wish to incur as little as possible the displeasure of the government-supported orthodox church, by providing investigators with little or no documentary evidence upon which to secure a conviction of heresy. At the same time they early acquired skill in answering …  Read more

Maps and mapping technologies have been criticized for contributing to Indigenous assimilation.For example, explorers and colonizers represented Indigenous lands as unoccupied and free,ignoring traditional place names and existing communities. In recent years, a large body ofresearch has developed to decolonize maps; today, Indigenous communities across the world areusing maps and mapping technologies to support their causes. However, the underlyingarchitecture of mapping technologies can still be at odds with Indigenous ways of knowing andconceptualizing the world. For example, GIS and spatial data structure mostly consider time aslinear, whereas Indigenous conceptualizations often view time as cyclical.Advances in mapping technologies over recent years …  Read more

Tests of nonword repetition (NWR) are valuable tools for identifying Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) in preschool and early school-age children, monolingual and bilingual. Two new tests for older children were examined: The TRepLo, using longer nonwords with manipulation of word-likeness, and the TRIC, testing memory for verbal stimuli without a verbal response. In experiment 1, three age groups of monolingual French speakers were tested: children in grade 3 (n=12), grade 6 (n=11), and adults (n=14) to examine developmental effects. In experiment 2, the performance 14 bilingual children and 13 monolingual children with DLD, each matched on age to children from …  Read more

The dual stressors of climate change and species invasion are transforming ecosystems worldwide. Risk assessments of the joint effects of these overlapping stressors are urgently needed but are impeded by incomplete data on the thermal ecology of invasive species. A review of published thermal metrics for a subset of the world’s most invasive freshwater fishes found evidence of intraspecific variation in thermal tolerances and preferenda; however, most studies of a given species examined only a single population (66%) or did not distinguish populations (19%), suggesting major information gaps even among species deemed to pose the greatest invasion risks. Through a …  Read more

Ruttan, R. (Supervisors)  Read more

Transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) are usually, but not always, conserved during evolution. To better understand TFBS evolution I examined the cases of non-conservation for 1120 known human and mouse TFBS in the genomes of 11 mammals and the reconstructed genomes of their ancestors. Novel TFBS appeared frequently, even near conserved ancestral sites, but site gain was significantly more probable when an ancestral site was lost (TFBS turnover). 165 human TFBS and 113 mouse TFBS have evolved de novo since divergence from the boreoeutherian ancestor and are absent in other lineages. Putative TFBS and sequences that differ from TFBS by …  Read more

La curiethérapie est une modalité de traitement par rayonnement bien établie et efficace pour divers cancers. Elle implique le placement d'une source hautement radioactive émettant des photons (une graine), généralement l'Ir192, dans ou près de la tumeur pour délivrer des doses thérapeutiques de rayonnement. La curiethérapie à haute dose guidée par imagerie offre une distribution optimale de la dose dans la tumeur avec une toxicité réduite pour les organes à risque grâce au fort gradient de dose des sources de curiethérapie. Cependant, la distribution de dose des sources de curiethérapie est identique dans toutes les directions, ce qui conduit souvent …  Read more

Ubiquitin is a small, globular 8 kDa protein whose function is accomplished by its conjugation to targeted substrates. This conjugation is a multi-step process involving three different enzymes. Upon polyubiquitination of a target protein, the 26S proteasome is recruited, leading to the degradation of the substrate. The ubiquitination of proteins, and hence their degradation, can be prevented through the action of deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), cysteine proteases that cleave the isopeptide bond through which ubiquitin moieties are attached to their substrates. How DUBs recognize their substrates has been unclear. Two isoforms of a novel testis-specific deubiquitinating enzyme, UBP-tl and UBP-t2, which …  Read more

Very little appears to be known about many physical and chemical factors that specifically affect the rate of fermentation of apple juice. Indeed, before the work by Clark et al. (1954) at the Bacteriology Department of Macdonald College, it appears that factors other than those tested by Barker (1908) bad not been studied. Barker studied the affect of seration, the temperature of incubation used, the kinds of yeast used, and dissolved nitrogenous matter on the rate of alcohol formation in apple juice. Clark et al. (1954) studied the effect of the age of inoculum, the concentration of yeast extract, and …  Read more

In the atmosphere moist air rises and cools adiabatically, its vapeur density and temperature following a path such as A in Fig. l. If the air continues to rise and grows colder than its dew point (B), the excess water substance will condense in the form of cloud. [...]  Read more

The characteristics and inheritance of maize silk resistance to Fusarium graminearum ear rot were investigated. In an in vitro test, genotypic differences in the degradation of detached silk tissue by F. graminearum were correlated to field evaluations of resistance. Susceptibility to infection decreased with silk age. Total phenolics of silk channel silk tissue increased in response to infection in resistant inbreds but decreased in susceptible inbreds. The flavones iso-orientin, iso-vitexin, maysin, luteolin, and apigenin were identified in the silk. No significant genotype by isolate interaction effects were found when 13 inbred lines were inoculated with three F. graminearum isolates. Simple …  Read more

It is proposed in this paper to present the results of a study, chiefly petrographical, of the various rocks of the Township of Wollaston. [...]  Read more

Over the past 30 years, the prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 30kg/m2) in Canada has increased 400 %. Even more concerning, the prevalence of Class III (BMI ≥ 40kg/m2) obesity has increased over 1000 % during the same period. Obesity is associated with type-2-diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, and musculoskeletal pain. These co-morbidities collectively cost the Canadian economy $ 4.3 billion per year in healthcare costs and lost productivity at work. Moreover, obesity results in mobility impairments including reduced stride length and slower walking cadence. For individuals living with extreme obesity and a related co-morbidity, bariatric surgery is the preferred treatment …  Read more

A utility-based method of design for serviceability is developed and applied to a case study of office floor deflections. Structural design for serviceability is reviewed and surveys of engineers and building developers yield information on the occurrence and evaluation of serviceability problems. A probabilistic utility-based formulation of the serviceability design problem is presented, and design optimization is related to pseudo-limit states and associated serviceability indices appropriate to 'single point' design checks. The case study includes the review and adaptation of stochastic load models, the development of a load-response model to account for random spatial variations of structural properties, and detailed …  Read more

Kiss, Robert (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Regular use of the emergency department is associated with a patient's inability to identify a regular primary care physician. Continuity of the physician-patient relationship is largely determined by patient satisfaction, which in turn is influenced by the physician's communication and interpersonal skills. The objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between the communication competency of newly licensed family physicians and the ambulatory health care utilization behaviour of their regular emergency department users. It was hypothesized that physicians with higher levels of competency in patient communication would be the providers of a greater proportion of their patients' ambulatory care …  Read more

Canada's first Parliament Buildings, built in 1859--65 and destroyed by fire in 1916, were the nation's most prominent symbol of national identity and its most celebrated public space. Built into its fabric was an exclusively masculine definition of public persons, one which, at the end of the nineteenth century, women challenged in both subtle and overt ways. This research examines the design of the Parliament Buildings as a multi-faceted building type, a complex mix of domestic, office and legislative design where both public and "private" spaces intersected. It overlays official documentation of the buildings with a rich variety of sources---archival …  Read more

This study was originally planned in an attempt to explain the mechanism involved in fixed dilatation of the pupil resulting from ipsilateral cerebral compression. It soon became evident, however, that the pupillary changes constituted but one element of complete oculomotor nerve palsy. An investigation has been made of eleven clinical cases, seven of whom failed to recover and were examined at necropsy, and of fifteen experimental procedures carried out on Macacus Rhesus monkeys. Each clinical case examined at necropsy and each successful experimental animal showed signs of ipsilateral third nerve palsy, and in each there was found a herniation of …  Read more

The struggle was caused by the Church of England's claim to exclusive establishment in the colonies. It was contended that the Church was established by the Act of Union, 1707, Royal 1nstructions to the Governors, the Quebec Act, 1774, and the Canada Act, 1791. Establishrnent meant legal recognition as the only Protestant Church having the right to perform civil acts, to be incorporated, to control education and to receive government financial support. To these pretensions the Kirk, as the established Church of Scotland madeobjection. [...]  Read more

This dissertation offers a revaluation of Walter de la Mare's poetry; it counters two common critical misconceptions; escapism and lack of development. The overall pattern of imagery in the poetry reflects de la Mare's understanding of reality. It outlines a universe of four interpenetrating "worlds": this world, the other world, the child world and the adult world. This pattern is used as a frame of reference. Key poems are closely read so the complexity beneath apparent simplicity is pointed up. The poetry divides into three chronological stages, with two peaks of maturity. In the early peak, The Listeners (1912) and …  Read more

Tamblyn, Robyn (Supervisor1)  Read more

Malaria is a major global health concern, with half of the world’s population being at risk of infection. Among the Plasmodium species that infect humans, P. falciparum causes most fatalities. Chloroquine (CQ) was the drug of choice for decades and considered safe, affordable and easy-to-use until resistance emerged. However, the exact mechanism of CQ resistance is not known. CQ is suggested to accumulate in the parasite’s digestive vacuole due to its weak base properties, where it exerts its antimalarial action. Several transporters are involved in intracellular distribution of antimalarial drugs. Among them are the P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (PfCRT) …  Read more

Mclntosh, D. (Supervisors)  Read more

The risk of progressive collapse of reinforced concrete parking structures due to punching shear failure of a slab-column connection can be increased by the corrosion of the top flexural reinforcement and delamination caused by exposure to de-icing salts. Although considerable research has been conducted regarding the punching shear failure of slab-column connections, there has been little research regarding the effects of corrosion of reinforcement and delamination on the punching and post-punching shear responses of the connections. Three slab-column connections were designed, constructed, and tested at McGill University to study: (1) the effects of significant delamination on the punching and post-punching …  Read more

Dams across North America are coming to the end of their planned lifespans and are increasingly being considered for removal, which would significantly change river ecology and hydrology and the provision of ecosystem services. Such changes affect stakeholders differently, according to their uses, values and perceptions of ecosystem services. Understanding these impacts is necessary for effective and equitable decision making concerning dam removal, and for conflict resolution. The aims of this thesis were to analyse social demand for ecosystem services and its contribution to stakeholder conflict, and explore options for conflict resolution.A conceptual framework was developed to link ecosystem services …  Read more

The following is a report of a qualitative inquiry regarding a team of novices and their journey in developing shared expertise and social creativity in the domain of group facilitation and process consultation. Using the format of public reflection, the participants engaged in an intensive collaborative process of meaning making, along with the university instructor as expert, while being teaching assistants in a course about group dynamics. Using the framework of evolving systems, the methodology employed an instrumental case study approach, with the case defined as the group. Data sets included videotaped debriefing and planning sessions, individual and group interviews, …  Read more

Adolescence is a time of tremendous transformation in the domain of sexuality.  Read more

A three-dimensional structural analysis model of the human thoracolumbar spine and rib cage has been developed in order to investigate its stability in relation to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Idiopathic scoliosis is one of the most puzzling deformities of the spine, due to the fact that there is no known initiating cause. From the viewpoint that it can be explained in a purely biomechanical manner, one particular hypothesis as to its etiology is investigated in this thesis. The hypothesis is that a lordosis-inducing growth of the thoracic spine [34,100,115] in conjunction with spinal asymmetries in the lateral or horizontal plane [34] …  Read more

The exchange of carbon and water between a temperate peatland and the atmosphere was studied directly for the vascular plants; Chamaedaphne calyculata, Kalmia angustifolia, Vaccinium myrtilloides, and Maianthemum trifolium and indirectly for the bryophytes; Sphagnum rubellum and S. magellanicum. In vascular plants, carbon and water fluxes were well coupled (~2.27 mumol CO 2 mmol-1 H2O) except in the post-deciduous period where temperature constrained water flux more than carbon flux. The seasonal cycle of Sphagnum water content was driven by water table depth; rain depth, rain frequency and atmospheric vapor pressure deficit. In 2000, these factors combined to cause primarily over …  Read more

Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are large enzymes that synthesize diverse secondary metabolites ranging from antibiotics to industrial solvents. They are arranged as an assembly line of modules where each module is responsible for incorporating one specific substrate, or "building block," into the final nonribosomal peptide (NRP), through the action of 3 domains. In canonical NRPSs, substrates are selected and activated by the adenylation (A) domain and then transferred onto the peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) domain. The PCP domain transports them to the condensation (C) domain for incorporation into the nascent peptide. NRPSs may also include specialized tailoring domains to further …  Read more

Hurtubise, Jacques Claude (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

Wanderley, Marcelo (Supervisor1)  Read more