McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par R

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a 37 amino acid peptide arising from the alternative splicing of the calcitonin gene. The wide distribution of CGRP in the central and peripheral nervous systems suggests a role for CGRP in sensory processing. The primary focus of, this thesis was to study the involvement of CGRP and its binding sites in rat models of chronic inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The expression and binding sites of galanin and substance P were also examined to assess the specificity of the observed changes. No changes were observed in CGRP, galanin and substance P immunostaining in the dorsal …  Read more

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids, plant population, rates of fertilization and irrigation in 1984 and 1985 on soil test levels, soil pH, yield and yield components as well as nutrient uptake. High rates of fertilization increased soil test P and K but decreased soil test Ca and Mg and soil pH. Irrigation decreased soil test K, Ca and Mg. In both years maximum grain yields (at 15.5% moisture) were obtained when all factors were at high levels. Hybrid Pioneer 3925 and and hybrid CO-OP 2645 produced a maximum yield …  Read more

We present a new technique for simulating high resolution surface wrinkling deformations of composite objects consisting of a soft interior and a harder skin. We combine high resolution thin shells with coarse finite element lattices and define frequency based constraints that allow the formation of wrinkles with properties matching those predicted by the physical parameters of the composite object. Our two-way coupled model produces the expected wrinkling behavior without the computational expense of a large number of volumetric elements to model deformations under the surface. We use C1 quadratic shape functions for the interior deformations, allowing very coarse resolutions to …  Read more

The objective of this thesis comes from a desire to ponder on the role played by Benito Perez Galdos' novels. As a prolific Spanish journalist, novelist and "historian," his work offers a deep insight into the second half of the nineteenth-century society for it depicts historical situations of that particular moment. Through the evolution of the author's artistic representation, we will assess the values he seeks to impart. Moreover, in conjunction with this artistic evolution, there is our perception of the various political changes and turmoils, that is, we shall try to understand these historial events, not so much in …  Read more

To understand why remyelination fails in diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), I studied the cells and molecules involved in remyelination. I examined the cellular response to cuprizone-induced demyelination in C57B1/6 female mice. In response to the toxin cuprizone, microglia, macrophages, T cells and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), accumulated in the corpus callosum. I have identified a novel population of CD11c-expressing microglia with potent antigen presenting capacity, which localized to the demyelinated corpus callosum following cuprizone treatment. A broad panel of chemokines were upregulated as early as 1 week following cuprizone treatment. Administration of one of them, an oligodendrocyte precursor …  Read more

This MA thesis is a comparative study of the novels of Luigi Pirandello (Agrigento 1867--Rome 1936) and Max Frisch (Zurich 1911--1991). Six texts are discussed: Pirandello's Il fu Mattia Pascal (1904), Quaderni di Serafino Gubbio operatore (1915), and Uno, nessuno e centomila (1925--6); and Frisch's Stiller (1954), Homo faber (1957), and Mein Name sei Gantenbein (1964). The comparison highlights the great similarities between Pirandello's and Frisch's treatment of the theme of identity as well as some important (and mainly structural) differences in their novelistic works. The analysis of the three pairs of novels shows the developments in narrative structure and …  Read more

This descriptive study explores the experience of stress and coping by volunteers working in a cancer support program. Using a model developed by Mary Vachon (1987) who looked at occupational stress of health professionals in critical care areas, methods of content analysis were applied to interviews with six volunteers, three of whom were cancer survivors. Differences in the quality of the stress and in the coping experience were explored. Findings indicate that occupational stress was present for volunteers. The major stressors common to all were issues of relationships with patients and the demands of the role. For volunteers who had …  Read more

This thesis examines the significant role of expressionist and minimalist visual aesthetics in the construction (imagery, structuring, language) and subsequent interpretation of Sheila Watson's The Double Hook. While Sherrill Grace's Regression & Apocalypse the groundwork for a literary expressionist reading of Watson's novel, this study elaborates the crucial links between literary and painterly expressionism in the novel and suggests Watson's critique of the expressionist aesthetic. A reading of the minimalist aesthetic, as both an extension of and an alternative to the expressionist reading of the text, emphasizes the relevance of noniconic painterly strategies to the novel and, by implication, of …  Read more

The solubility of molybdenum trioxide in liquid-undersaturated water vapour has been investigated experimentally at 300, 320, and 360°C and 48 to 163 bars. Results of these experiments show that the solubility of MoO3 in the vapour phase is between 1 and 23 ppm, which is 19-20 orders of magnitude higher than that in a water-free system. Molybdenum solubilities increase linearly with fH2O , indicating that the metal forms a gaseous hydrated complex of the type MoO3·nH2O by the reaction: MoO3g+nH 2Og=MoO3· nH2Og A1 The hydration number, n, is interpreted to have a value of 2.6 at 300ºC, 2.5 at 320ºC, …  Read more

We have conducted an experimental investigation of the solubility and speciation of Mo in HCl-, NaCl-, and NaOH-bearing water vapour, and of the partitioning of Mo between coexisting aqueous liquid and vapour at 300 to 370°C and up to saturated pressure. Our results indicate that Mo concentration is enhanced in HCl-bearing water vapour at fHCl > 0.1 bar, and in NaOH-saturated water vapour, but is unaffected by the presence of NaCl. This suggests that Mo speciates as MoO3·nH2O in water vapour at equilibrium with NaCl or fHCl < 0.1 bar. The dependence of SigmafMo on fHCl at higher acidity points …  Read more

Dans cette thèse, on explique le lien entre les systèmes d'équations d'évolution complètement intégrables et l'évolution des invariants différentiels de l'action d'un groupe dans le cas particulier d'une courbe dans Rⁿ , sous l'action du produit semidirect d'un groupe G avec Rⁿ, où G est semisimple, tel que présenté par Marì-Beffa. Cette connection fait intervenir la théorie de repères mobiles de Fels et Olver, les systèmes hamiltoniens de dimension infinie et les crochets de Poisson, ainsi que les groupes et algèbres de lacets à extension centrale. On présente aussi un ré́sumé de la théorie pertinente des groupes et algèbres Lie …  Read more

Cold spray (CS) has recently emerged as a promising technology for various applications, including coatings, additive manufacturing, and field repairs. However, a key challenge in cold spraying is the accurate simulation of the deposition process. Despite numerous numerical studies, many have overlooked the importance of interfacial adhesion and the influence of native oxide films on sprayed particles. To address these challenges, the present thesis proposes a novel numerical method based on peridynamics (PD). By incorporating interfacial interactions and oxide damage, this method aims to provide a more realistic representation of particle impacts and bonding in CS. This thesis work started …  Read more

Optimal partitioning of three-dimensional (3-D) mesh applications necessitates dynamically determining and optimizing for the most time-inhibiting factors, such as load imbalance and communication volume. One challenge is to create an analytical model where the programmer can focus on optimizing load imbalance or communication volume to reduce execution time. Another challenge is the best individual performance of a specific mesh refinement demands precise study and the selection of the suitable computation strategy. Very-large-scale finite element method (FEM) applications require sophisticated capabilities for using the underlying parallel computer's resources in the most efficient way. Thus, classifying these requirements in a manner that …  Read more

Commutation signaling is an anti-multipath modulation technique that employs bandwidth spreading to overcome multipath induced intersymbol interference. In this work, a wireless communication system using differential binary phase shift keyed commutation signaling has been considered for a two-wave Rayleigh fading channel. Commutation signaling code parameters that characterize the system performance (average and worst case) are revealed and codebooks have been constructed based on these parameters. For binary codebooks constructed based on average performance, the maximum probability of error may be very large at certain inter-wave delays. On the other hand, binary and four phase codebooks constructed based on the worst …  Read more

The magnetic properties of amorphous Fe$ sb{ rm x}$T$ sb{ rm 100-x}$ (T = Zr, Hf, Sc; 89 $ le$ x $ le$ 93) alloys have been systematically studied mainly by Mossbauer spectroscopy and magnetization measurements. Two magnetic transitions have been observed in Fe$ sb{92.5}$Hf$ sb{7.5}$ (the only FeHf alloys studied here) and FeZr alloys with Fe content between 90 and 93 at.%. We have ruled out the cluster models which attribute the second transition either to the ordering of AFM clusters or to the freezing of FM clusters, and confirmed that the second transition is due to the homogeneous …  Read more

Initiating the muscle differentiation pathway typically results in activation of muscle-specific genes previously maintained in a silenced state. One of the processes controlling changes in gene expression during differentiation is a global demethylation event. The mechanisms involved in this global hypomethylation are not fully understood. Promoter methylation is one of the normal mechanisms inactivating gene expression. A single CpG site in the 5' flanking region of myogenin is reported to undergo demethylation during C2C12 differentiation. Considering the demethylase feature of MBD2b and its expression profile during C2C12 differentiation, I propose the hypothesis that MBD2b/demethylase is involved in C2C12 differentiation by …  Read more

A series of studies was carried out on the direct analysis of solid samples with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Samples were first vaporized by modified electrothermal vaporization (ETV) systems and the vapor was introduced into the ICP. Inert gas flows were used to increase analyte transport efficiency and to reduce matrix effects. Halogenation reactions were used to improve solid sample vaporization in one of the modified ETV systems. At temperatures ranging from 1000$ sp circ$C to 2400$ sp circ$C pure oxides and carbides were converted to lower boiling point halides and evaporated. Experimental …  Read more

Published by a group of young Taiwanese filmmakers in 1987, the Taiwan New Cinema manifesto shared concerns about the future and authenticity of Taiwanese cinema. With the unique adoption of slow-cinema techniques by these Taiwanese New Cinema filmmakers, such as static cameras, deep focus, long takes, complex depth of field, cool color schemes, and melancholic atmosphere, Taiwanese cinema from 1980s to early 2000s has influenced many contemporary Taiwanese and Asian filmmakers. Focusing on the works of three highly influential filmmakers associated with the Taiwan New Cinema -- Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Edward Yang, and Tsai Ming-Liang -- this thesis explores how the …  Read more

The establishment of neuronal circuits during embryonic development requires the coordinated development of neurons and glia. Although studies in the past two decades have made significant progress in understanding the underlying mechanisms, many key issues remain unaddressed. My Ph.D. research utilizes the developing Drosophila visual system as a model to answer two important questions about the coordinated development of photoreceptor (R cells) neurons and glial cells in sub-retinal space (i.e. sub-retinal glia). The first question is, what are the mechanisms that direct the coordinated exit of photoreceptor (R cells) axons and wrapping glial (WG) membrane from the eye disc into …  Read more

Isac, Mihaiela (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

This thesis deals with market rules that define the price and the generation schedule in electricity markets. The research has focused on three approaches: Pool Cost Minimization (PCM) with marginal pricing, Consumer Payment Minimization (CPM), and mixed Pool Cost/Consumer Payment Minimization (PCM/CPM). Each method is examined from the perspective of the solution characteristics and the relevant economic principle, together with numerical examples. Especially in the CPM method, several fundamental theoretical results are obtained regarding the nature of the minimum consumer payment and the corresponding generation schedule. In addition, some generator bidding strategies are studied with respect to PCM and CPM …  Read more

This thesis investigates the behaviour of electricity markets under marginal and pay-as-bid pricing. Marginal pricing is believed to yield the maximum social welfare and is currently implemented by most electricity markets. However, in view of recent electricity market failures, pay-as-bid has been extensively discussed as a possible alternative to marginal pricing. In this research, marginal and pay-as-bid pricing have been analyzed in electricity markets with both perfect and imperfect competition. The perfect competition case is studied under both exact and uncertain system marginal cost prediction. The comparison of the two pricing methods is conducted through two steps: (i) identify the …  Read more

Kesidis, George (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

L'objectif de ce mémoire est d'étudier la façon dont la circularité structure le dernier roman de Réjean Ducharme, Gros mots, dans son ensemble. Les multiples jeux de miroirs et procédés d'autoreprésentation dans Gros mots, tels que la mise en abyme, créent une circularité qui se déploie à plusieurs niveaux, de la narration aux idées. Nous observerons les divers effets de ressassement et de réduplication causés par cette circularité, ainsi que leurs répercussions sur le personnage principal et narrateur du roman. L'analyse de l'intertextualité (notamment l'intertextualité ducharmienne) révèle que celle-ci participe également à la circularité globale du roman, reflétant certains de …  Read more

The purpose of this research was to study community, after-care facilities r discharged patients of the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital to determine whether they were becoming, as recently predicted, "mini institutions" or community backwards.  Read more

Seuntjens, Jan Peter Frans (Supervisor1)  Read more

Sarfehnia, Arman (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

Dans le but d'étudier l'absorption et l'interconvertion de différentes sources de carbone, du fructose, glucose, sorbitol (D-glucitol) et saccharose ont été fournis à des explants depommiers de trois différents génotypes: un porte-greffe Ottawa-3 (0-3), un greffon de type Macspur (MA) et des plantules issues de graines de Macspur (SM). L'étude a porté au stade de multiplication et au stade de racinement des explants cultivés in vitro. Après une periode d'incubation de deux heures sur les milieux contenant une source de carbone radioactive, le comptage par scintillation liquide n'a pas révèlé de différences significatives entre l'absorption du sorbitol, du fructose, du …  Read more

Myhr, Gail (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis examines the practice and the use of the portraits by Marguerite Duras and Violette Leduc during an era that tends to neglect the representation of faces. More specifically, this study focuses on their rich and haunting description of beauty, based on the main argument that both of them evoke a double memory through the portrait of beauty. The first memory is literary, the textual representation of beauty bringing up an immutable repertoire of norms and clichés. The mere mention of their beauty immediately assigns those characters to a narrative function inherited from the tradition of the novel. It …  Read more

Daunais, Isabelle (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

A LINC-8 computer facilitated quantitative analysis of the magnitude and duration of conduction and potential changes during recurrent pyramidal and surface evoked IPSPs in pyramidal tract neurones of barbiturate anaesthetized cats. Potentiation of recurrent pyramidal IPSPs by surface evoked IPSPs and a similar IPSP reversal potential for both, coupled with evidence of occlusion following simultaneous activation of various inhibitory pathways suggested a common inhibitory pathway to corticospinal neurones. Exploration of the cortex with closely spaced multibarreled micropipettes revealed that glutamate evoked firing of some nonpyramidal neurones was associated with a decreased firing frequency of neighbouring pyramidal and other nonpyramidal neurones, …  Read more

La radiothérapie à faisceau mixte (MBRT) constitue la création et l'administration de plans de traitement impliquant plusieurs modalités, telles que les multiples énergies de photons et d'électrons produites par un linac. La combinaison d'électrons et de photons dans un seul plan de traitement peut réduire la dose administrée aux tissus normaux pour tous les patients ayant une tumeur superficielle grâce au parcours limité des faisceaux d'électrons dans la matière. Par contre, l'adoption générale de la technique du MBRT n'a pas encore été realisée en clinique et demeure largement un sujet de recherche en raison des collimateurs emcombrants utilisés lors de …  Read more

Modern treatment planning techniques such as inverse planning have increased the demand for rapid dose calculation methods to accommodate the large number of dose distributions required to generate a treatment plan. General-purpose Monte Carlo approaches for dose calculation are known to offer the highest accuracy in dose calculation at the expense of significant computing time. This work adapts a Macro Monte Carlo approach to dose calculation for electrons andprotons for use with a GPU card, using pre-generated tracks from general-purpose Monte Carlo codes. The algorithm was implemented on the CUDA framework for parallel programming on graphics cards. Comparisons of the …  Read more

Dr. Moreau declares “Sympathetic pain” to be “a thing I used to suffer from years ago”; he is famously “as remorseless as nature” (127). As this passage makes clear, late Victorian authors such as H.G. Wells connected the mad scientist to popular fears about the ethical implications of scientific research, the newly social role of the professional scientist, and the moral dimensions of scientific objectivity. Focussing on four of Wells’s early Victorian fictions, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Time Machine (1895), The War of the Worlds (1898), and The Invisible Man (1897), this thesis explores how Wells’s fiction …  Read more

Du Roure, R. (Supervisors)  Read more

Caldwell, W. (Supervisors)  Read more

L'accélération depuis un départ-arrêté est une habileté fondamentale pour les joueurs de hockey sur glace. L'objectif de cette étude était de réaliser une analyse en trois-dimension du départ-arrêté de hockey sur glace et de comparer les mouvements entre les joueurs de haut et bas calibre. Sept joueurs de haut calibre et huit joueurs de bas calibre ont complété trois départ-arrêté sur une patinoire de hockey sur glace. Un système de capture de mouvement comprenant 10 caméras infrarouges a été placé sur la glace pour capturer la cinématique du bas du corps et du centre de masse durant les quatre premier …  Read more

La capacité de déduire la déception chez les enfants par leurs pairs a été examinée. Projet 1 consiste de sujets de maternelle (4 à 6 ans), du primaire (7 à 9 ans) et de jeunes adultes (17 à 25 ans) qui ont regardé des clips d'enfants qui disaient soit un mensonge ou la vérité. Que les enfants du primaire ont pu déduire correctement, à un niveau significativement plus haut que la chance, entre un mensonge et la vérité. Dans le Projet 2, une scène où l'enfant promet de dire la vérité est inclus. Le nombre de bonne conclusion a augmenté …  Read more

Parent-child conversations have remained on the periphery of studies investigating children's developmental understanding of death and the circumstances under which death is first discussed with children have not yet been documented in the literature. The current program of research sought to investigate the content of parent-child conversations about death and the impact of such discussions. This dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts that collectively contribute to the literature by documenting young children's early experiences with death, exploring the role of parental beliefs and attitudes in parental explanations of death, and evaluating children's feelings and understanding of death after such conversations. …  Read more

This thesis furthers the understanding of thermal interactions between the ocean and the sea ice using the Community Climate System Model (CCSM). It focuses on the results from the six simulations under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1B from the CCSM version 3 (CCSM3) and the five simulations under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 6.0 scenario from the CCSM version 4 (CCSM4). Rapid losses of September sea ice extent were simulated through all the A1B simulations from the CCSM3. A rapid loss event is recorded when the derivative of the five-year running mean of September sea ice extent …  Read more

Growth cones from rat dorsal root ganglia plated on laminin make transient adhesions through punctate integrin clusters called point contacts. We used immunocytochemistry to investigate if point contacts represent a specialized adhesive structure linking integrin clusters to the cytoskeleton. The cytoskeletal proteins vinculin, paxillin and talin colocalized with $ beta1$ integrin in a subpopulation of point contacts restricted to the lower membrane of the growth cone, in the central domain and at filopodial tips. The kinases p125$ sp{ rm FAK}$ and pp59fyn associated with the vinculin-positive clusters. The Rho GTPases were also present in growth cones, but only RhoB colocalized …  Read more

Le néocortex est organisé en microcircuits neuronaux répétés, dans lesquels la connectivité et la dynamique synaptique influencent le traitement de l'information. Alors, que les régions d’entrée sensorielles classiques comme le cortex visuel primaire (V1) sont bien étudiées, les microcircuits du cortex moteur primaire (M1), une région de sortie majeure, restent moins explorés. Les neurones de la couche corticale 2/3 sont particulièrement riches sur le plan computationnel: ils traitent les entrées ascendantes, intègrent les informations des régions voisines et projettent vers les couches de sortie, faisant d’eux des acteurs clés du traitement de l'information corticale. Au-delà du microcircuit excitateur des cellules …  Read more

La dépression est un trouble psychiatrique courant, mais son étiologie et ses fondements biologiques restent mal compris, compliquant la prévention et l’intervention précoce. En se concentrant sur des biomarqueurs quantifiables comme indicateurs de risque, nous pourrons mieux comprendre qui est le plus susceptible de la développer.L’altération de la sensibilité neuronale à la récompense pourrait être un marqueur biologique de vulnérabilité à la dépression. L’affaiblissement des réponses neuronales à la récompense peut précéder la dépression et être lié à l'anhédonie, la perte de plaisir pour des activités appréciées. Cette thèse explore comment se développe une réactivité neuronale réduite à la récompense …  Read more

Coulombe, Sylvain (Supervisor2)  Read more