McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par R

Before dealing directly with the local problem of juvenile delinquency in Montreal, a brief historical account of the general subject is in order. Cure rather than prevention has frequently seemed to be the aim of man's research whether in the medical, religious, or social field. Not until comparatively recent years have men concerned themselves with causes. This has been only too true in the attitude of society towards those who oft transgress its rules. The amount of time, thought and money which the State has expended in punishing those who have committed crimes has been enormous throughout the centuries. Only …  Read more

The effect of a single exposure of He-Ne laser on collagen content was studied in vivo using laboratory animals. A standardized 1.5 cm full thickness skin incision was made on the dorsum of 24 Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were divided into six equal size groups, three groups functioning as controls and three groups functioning as experimental. The experimental animals were irradiated with He-Ne laser four days post-incision for 16 minutes to deliver a total dose of 5.99 J/cm$ sp2$. On days 6, 10 and 14 post-incision, control and experimental animals had the healing wounds excised for analysis of collagen content …  Read more

In recent years considerable attention has been directed towards the organisms collectively known as "slime moulds". Recent work on these organisms has revealed that they are particularly favourable organisms for studying the physiology and morphology of differentiation. The term "slime mould” commonly refers to the members of four different groups of organisms; the Labyrinthulales, the Acrasiales, the Myxogastrales or Myxomycetes, and the Plasmodiophorales. With the exception of the Plasmodiophorales, the members of these groups are non-parasitic in higher plants.  Read more

Patrick Dion (Supervisor2)  Read more

Mark, Sutton, (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

The purified extracellular agarases produced by marine microorganisms hydrolyze the 8-1, 4 galactosidic linkages of agarose to yield a homologous series of neoagarosaccharides. A predominant end product after complete enzymic hydrolysis of agarose is the tetrasaccharide, neoagarotetraose, which is resistant to further degradation by agarase. This project involved the isolation of a 8-tetrasaccharidase from Pseudomonas atlantica, which hydrolyzes the 8-1, 4 linkage of neoagarotetraose. The cell-bound β-tetrasaccharidase, selectively released by EDTA-Tris-NaCl treatment of P. atlantica cells, was free of α-disaccharidase activity. β-Tetrasaccharidase and agarase were separated by isoelectric focusing and were shown to possess distinct pl values. Determination of the …  Read more

Cette étude essaye de montrer sous quelle forme la préciosité se montre dans l'oeuvre dramatique d'Edmond Rostand. Dans la première partie le terme 'préciosité' est defini et analysé pour en determiner les éléments et les formes, suivi par une brève hlstoire des Précieuses du dix septième siècle et de leur influence sur la société et sur la litterature et le langage français.  Read more

This thesis proposes a knowledge based expert system tool that can be used as an on- line controller for the charging/discharging of an energy storage system in a wind-diesel microgrid. The wind-diesel microgrid is modelled, and a typical energy storage system is implemented to test the functionality of the controller using hourly-discrete power val- ues. The results are compared against an offline optimization that was provided 24-hour lookahead wind values, as well as a controller that was implemented using artificial neural networks. The knowledge based expert system is then used to analyze the cost of energy, by means of a …  Read more

Bouffard, François (Supervisor2)  Read more

The Saguenay-Lac St. Jean and Charlevoix regions of Quebec are characterized by high incidences of hereditary diseases such as vitamin D-dependent rickets type I (VDD1), cystic fibrosis, and tyrosinemia. This phenomenon may be due to founder effect or genetic drift. Therefore, one may also detect differences in allele frequencies of neutral polymorphisms between these populations and the general population. An assessment of genetic variation was performed utilizing genetic markers spanning chromosome 12q14. Allele frequencies for the genetic markers in the sample populations did not differ significantly from those published for other Caucasian populations. One haplotype, observed in strong linkage disequilibrium …  Read more

Regression problems in which predictors are measured with error have been studied by statisticians and researchers for many years. Measurement error in predictors creates biases in estimated regression coefficients, and hence models that address this are extremely important. These models are especially important in perinatal research since errors in gestational age can have serious effects. The presence of measurement error in gestational age can lead to poor estimation of fetal growth and risk of mortality and morbidity, and can compromise statistical analyses [32, 39]. Since various obstetric choices are made based on birth weight distributions by gestational age, it is …  Read more

Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint., the apple s cab fungus, grows during the summer on the living leaf, producing a mycelium which develops only between the cuticle and the epidermis. But when the infected leaf dies naturally, this mycelium then grows as a saprophyte and sends its hyphae all through the tissues of the dead leaf. It is during this saprophytic part of its life cycle that the fungus passes through it s sexual stage. Ascogonial hyphae arise in the mesophyll of the dead leaves and after fertilization by antheridia from oppositely sexed thalli, initiate the perithecia.  Read more

In the light of recent interest in the diagnosis of malignancy by the microscopic examination of exfoliated cells, it was felt that the practical value of this method, in one particular field, could usefully be compared with standard histological practices. Cancer of the lung was selected, specifically for this investigation for the following reasons: 1. Bronchogenic carcinoma is an extremely important disease, constituting approximately 10% of all adult male cancers (Jones 1947). 2. In the early stages of the disease practical therapy is available in the form of pneumonectomy. 3. However, because of late diagnosis, the five year survival rate …  Read more

In important respects Aldous Huxley is a typical English literary intellectual of the period between the Treaty of Versailles and the present war. His early satire of post-war society is one of the most brilliant expressions of the disillusioned spirit of the nineteen twenties, and his rejection of the attitude of spectator, eight years later, in Eyeless In Gaza, for a positive belief in "the spirit of man" is representative of the trend of the nineteen thirties. The development of his thought must, therefore, be examined in relation to the currents of thought and the events of his time. These …  Read more

The three reported articles examine self-mutilation (SM) in a community sample of adolescents. First, the frequency of the behavior, gender differences and self-mutilative practices were examined. In addition, two models of self-mutilation, the anxiety reduction model and hostility model were explored in order to gain preliminary information regarding possible etiological factors in the manifestation of self-mutilation. Finally, other related maladaptive behaviors such as depressive symptomatology and eating pathology were also investigated. Four hundred and forty students from two schools, an urban and a suburban high school were given a screening measure designed to assess for SM. Students who indicated that …  Read more

The purpose of the present study was to assess whether girls with LD were at a greater risk for self-reported depressive symptomatology compared to both boys with LD and girls without LD. Differences in the pattern of responses of girls with LD and boys with LD on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) were also evaluated. In order to identify a learning disability, the short-form of the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children and the Wide Range Achievement Test were administered to 204 subjects. Results revealed that girls with LD demonstrated an increased risk for depressive symptomatology as compared to girls without …  Read more

Cette thèse soutient que dans l'Angleterre du début des temps modernes, les principaux modèles théoriques selon lesquels les poètes comprenaient comment le langage signifie ce qu'il signifie étaient des applications de la théologie de l'eucharistie. L'argumentaire s'appuie sur deux considérations : premièrement, la place centrale qu'occupaient la théologie et la pratique de l'eucharistie en Angleterre à cette époque; deuxièmement, la nature de l'engagement des poètes dans ce contexte social et intellectuel. Mon étude applique cette relation conceptuelle, que j'appelle la « poétique eucharistique », à la poésie lyrique et religieuse anglaise de la fin de la période médiévale jusqu'au début …  Read more

Reinforcement Learning has emerged as a useful framework for learning to perform a task optimally from experience in unknown systems. A major problem for such learning algorithms is how to balance optimally the exploration of the system, to gather knowledge, and the exploitation of current knowledge, to complete the task. Model-based Bayesian Reinforcement Learning (BRL) methods provide an optimal solution to this problem by formulating it as a planning problem under uncertainty. However, the complexity of these methods has so far limited their applicability to small and simple domains. To improve the applicability of model-based BRL, this thesis presents several …  Read more

The power of water is so varied and extensive in its applications that its study is of singular iinterest. Water is responsible for the formation of many existing geological structures; in the realms of engineering and locomotioin it is one of the chief resources of power; although it is very widely recognized in its connection with steam, nevertheless, steam's modern competitor, electricity is also primarily developed from thsi same source. This serves ito illustrate how widely distributed are the powers of water. [...]  Read more

Lee, Todd Campbell (Supervisor2)  Read more

Reid, W. (Supervisor)  Read more

One of the most valuable constituents of personality is ability to modify behaviour readily and effectively in accordance with changed conditions. That individuals differ greatly in this respect (even though apparently equated from the standpoint of education, occupation, intelligence and socio-economic status) is indicated by the ease with which some individuals shift behaviour to correspond with the requirements of the immediate environment, whereas others fail to adapt or do so only with considerable difficulty. Frequently, failure to modify behaviour is attributed to force of habit or mechanization. On the other hand, in many cases, an examination of an individual's approach …  Read more

When fFrederick Augustus began his lonog and eventful reign, as Elector of Saxony in 1768, Saxon prestige in Europe was in a state of rapid decline. The three Partitions of Poland brought with then the menace of three vastly increased powers, which did not cease to look Westward for further expansion. Frederick Augustus, therefore, was forced to limit his foreign relations to within the German Empire, and while quiety buiding up the internal strength of Saxony, to attract, as little as possible, the attention of the Three Eastern Powers. [...]  Read more

Everett, Jane (Advisor)  Read more

Mackay, H. (Supervisors)  Read more

With the object of aiding geophysical investigation, three new methods have been developed theoretically for determining the Dielectric Constant of Rock from the core rods obtained in diamond drill boring. In all cases the necessity of mechanically shaping the specimens to be tested is obviated. Apparatus has been oonstructed and a oonsiderable amount of experimental work has been done on one of these --- the Immersion Method --. but so far with inconclusive results. This is ascribed largely to the delicacy of the capacity measurements involved. [...]  Read more

Radio ionosphere investigations in connection with the International Polar Year, carried out in Montreal between January and August, 1933, using the amplitude variation method of Breit and Tuve, are described. Especial attention is paid to the variation of equivalent layer height with frequency, and a statistical analysis of the records is carried out. This clearly shows the presenoe of an intermediate reflecting layer and of "midnight E". The phenomenon of "persistent E" reflections is described and a number of typical curves are discussed. [...]  Read more

Trichinosis as a human disease has its roots in antiquity, but no positive knowledge of the nature of the disease was obtained until the 19th Century, with the discovery of the worm itself by James Paget, a first-year medical student at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London. This discovery laid the foundation for further investigation, until finally, the life-cycle of the causative organism, Trichinella spiralis, a parasitic nematode, was elucidated, and possible means of control and diagnostic techniques developed. Although the serological aspects of Trichinosis have been investigated extensively, it was felt that there still existed a need for further information on …  Read more

Pelster, David (Supervisor3)  Read more

Coderre, Terence (Supervisor1)  Read more

The "boundary layer" is defined as the region in the flow field of a fluid in which the viscous forces are not negligible. For flow relative to an object, this region is one of small thickness adjacent to the surface of the object. [...]  Read more

Il y a un manque de recherche sur la population subalterne de la dynastie des Liao. Par conséquent, l'archéologie de la période a peu de contrôle sur la chronologie et la variation de la culture matérielle non - élite. Afin de remédier cette insuffisance, cette étude applique pXRF et pétrographie optique à 215 tessons non-vitré de la région de Chifeng, en Mongolie intérieure, République populaire de Chine. Ces analyses fournissent des informations de base sur la variation géochimique et minéralogique de ces tessons, et indiquent que pXRF et pétrographie optique sont favorables pour l'analyse de ces matériaux. De plus, les …  Read more

Vitamin D3 must be metabolically activated by the liver to 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) and then by the kidney 1alphahydroxylase (1alphaOHase) to become 1,25dihydroxyvitamin D 3 (1,25(OH)2D3). 1,25(OH)2 D3 is a potent inhibitor of tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Recent studies indicate that metabolic activation of 1,25(OH) 2D3 also occurs in cancer cells such as breast cancer. Consequently, the major objective of this project was to determine if tumoral 25OHD 3-1alphahydroxylase modulates any or all of the stages of breast tumor progression without inducing the hypercalcemic side effects of 1,25(OH) 2D3. For this purpose we used the PyVMT breast …  Read more

Renaissance art historians concur that women were characteristically depicted as ideal types in Renaissance portraiture. Nonetheless, the historiography of portraits of women in Renaissance Italy reveals generational shifts between scholars. Male scholars writing in the nineteenth-century to the mid twentieth-century applied formalist and cultural historical methodologies. Recent scholars raise issues that were previously neglected, such as social historical and feminist concerns. Following this rationale, I argue that the changing interests of scholars have altered the interpretations of portraits of Renaissance women. Moreover, this historical difference is split along gender lines in the historiography of Titian's La Bella. A critical review …  Read more

The legal control of nuclear power sources (NPS) regulates the use of an advanced technology necessary for the exploration of outer space but which nevertheless presents potential hazards. The legal control of the use of NPS results from international space conventions and, since 1992, from the Principles Relevant to the Use of NPS and established preventive and emergency measures, and a liability and compensation regime. Several areas call for improvement to increase efficiency and comprehensiveness of the control. Proposals for revision encompass reinforcing the 1992 Principles (scope, applicability, binding force etc.). Other proposals want to integrate to the existing regime …  Read more

Schwartzman, Kevin (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

Moodie, Erica (Supervisor2)  Read more

Tardif, Jean Claude (Supervisor2)  Read more

Bock and Aitkin (1981) developed an EM algorithm for the maximum marginal likelihood estimation of parametric item response curves, such that these estimates could be obtained in the absence of the estimation of examinee parameters. Using functional data analytic techniques described by Ramsay and Silverman (1997), this algorithm is extended to achieve nonparametric estimates of item response functions. Unlike their parametric counterparts, nonparametric functions have the freedom to adopt any possible shape, making the current approach an attractive alternative to the popular three-parameter logistic model. A basis function expansion is described for the item response functions, as is a roughness …  Read more