McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par T

Background. Peripheral vein infusion thrombophlebitis (PVIT) is a complication of intravenous therapy. We hypothesized that inherited thrombophilia may increase the risk of PVIT. Purpose. In preparation for a multi-center study of our hypothesis, we conducted a pilot study to estimate PVIT incidence, measure the prevalence of inherited thrombophilia, and pilot test the study procedures. Methods. A prospective case-control study of 25 cases (patients with PVIT) matched on catheter duration to 25 controls. PVIT risk factors and inherited thrombophilia were assessed. Results. PVIT incidence was 14 per 1000 catheter-days. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of the inherited thrombophilia …  Read more

Dans cette thèse, nous introduisons le langage de la géométrie différentielle noncommutative afin de formaliser le calcul différentiel discret.Dans le Chapitre 2, nous commençons par une brève description de limites inverses d'ensembles partiellement ordonnés (parfois appelé poset d'après l'anglais partially ordered set) comme approximation d'espace topologique. Nous montrons ensuite comment une C*-algèbre peut être associée à un poset. Cette C*-algèbre induit, de fait, une structure linéaire par morceau sur l'espace en question. En outre, nous expliquons comment, de manière duale, l'algèbre des fonctions continue C(M) sur une variété M peut être approximée par une limite directe de C*-algèbres associées à …  Read more

"On January 27, 1967, the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Treaty on Outer Space) was opened for signature in Washington, London and Moscow. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were among the sixty signatories of the treaty in Washington, D.C. l The treaty culminates a decade of discussion concerning the status of Outer Space and formalizes nine years of United Nations General Assembly 2 resolutions dealing with the peaceful use of outer space. [...]"@eng  Read more

Most considerations of Thomas Carlyle centre around one aspect of his thought or writing. Carlyle’s comprehensive method of writing - selecting a portion of a philosophical or practical system here which suits his purpose, rejecting a component of another system there - would seem to defy complete analysis and explanation under any single heading. To those seeking an understanding of Carlyle’s personal religion and philosophy, Sartor Resartus forms the central document. To other men who could not fathom this transcendantal, mystical thinking Carlyle left his practical gospel of “Work” and “Duty” for their edification. The men who were to lead …  Read more

A three-dimensional code has been developed for the simulation of tone noise generated by turbofan engine inlets using computational aeroacoustics. The governing equations are the linearized Euler equations, which are further simplified to a set of equations in terms of acoustic potential, using the irrotational flow assumption, and subsequently solved in the frequency domain. Due to the special nature of acoustic wave propagation, the spatial discretization is performed using a spectral element method, where a tensor product of the nth-degree polynomials based on Chebyshev orthogonal functions is used to approximate variations within hexahedral elements. Non-reflecting boundary conditions are imposed at …  Read more

Le silicium sur isolant (SOI) est devenu un matériel intéressant pour les dispositifs photoniques intégrés grâce à ses possibilités d'intégration de dispositifs optiques avec la technologie des semi-conducteurs à l'oxyde de métal complémentaires (CMOS) et son faible coût. En outre, le grand contraste d'indice du système SOI permet la fabrication de dispositifs très compacts. Le multiplexage en longueur d'onde (WDM) est une technique clé pour les réseaux de télécommunications et la communication des données à haute capacité. Les filtres optiques sont l'un des éléments clés pour la mise en oeuvre de circuits photoniques intégrés (PICs) et de systèmes WDM de …  Read more

Although there have been many improvements in technical aspects of microsurgical reconstructive surgery using free tissue transfer, partial and complete flap failure due to ischemia reperfusion injury still remains a significant clinical problem. Our limited understanding of the pathophysiology of ischemia reperfusion injury has been a major impediment in developing interventions to prevent or minimize this injury in order to reduce patient morbidity associated with major reconstructive procedures. There has been profound interest in the role played by the gaseous free radical nitric oxide in ischemia reperfusion injury in cerebral, myocardial and intestinal tissue. The role of this molecule has …  Read more

A harmonic drive is a compact, light-weight and high-ratio torque transmission device which has almost zero backlash. Its unique performance features has captured the attention of designers in many industrial applications, especially in robotics. Despite widespread industrial application of harmonic drives, the torque control of this system has not been fully addressed. In this thesis the robust torque control of harmonic drive system is examined in detail. In order to measure the transmitted torque of a harmonic drive and for the purpose of a torque feedback scheme, an intelligent built-in torque sensing technique is developed in this thesis. Specifically, strain-gauges …  Read more

Ce travail présente la conception de circuits d'interface, pour la mesure de pression sous vide à l'aide de résonateurs MEMS. Deux nouvelles structures de systèmes de mesure sont proposées. Les spécifications requises, ainsi que la conception des blocs composants pour chaque structure, sont étudiées en détail. Par la suite, l'opération adéquate et les spécifications de performance pour les deux architectures - conçues par la technologie CMOS de IBM à 0.13 μm - sont présentées par une combinaison de simulations post-layout et de résultats mesurés. De plus, les avantages et inconvénients de chaque structure sont évalués en détail, suivis d'une comparaison …  Read more

Lessard, Larry (Supervisor2)  Read more

This study was prompted by purely practical needs. In clinical psychological work, especially in diagnostic testing, it is often useful to have a rough idea of the mental age of a patient. This can be obtained from the Stanford-Binet (1937) Vocabulary List, for which mental age equivalents are available. However, one of the tests most commonly administered in a diagnostic situation, the Wechsler-Bellevue Adult Scale, includes a vocabulary subtest, but this does not yield mental ages*, and one would have to administer the Stanford-Binet Vocabulary Test as well. This procedure is time consuming for the psychologist and undesirable from the …  Read more

Wavelength-selective photonic devices are important in several fields. Moreover, fabrication variations are often responsible for the decreased experimental performance of photonic de- vices compared to simulations, and identifying the ones that have the most impact can help us build better photonic devices. Subwavelength Grating (SWG) structures offer versatility and flexibility, such as controlling dispersion and birefringence. Therefore, this thesis focuses on (1) using SWGs/metamaterials for developing waveguide devices, including Bragg Gratings (BGs) and a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) diplexer, and (2) characterizing BGs in order to understand more about the fabrication variations imposed in the structures.Silicon Nitride (SiN) is particularly …  Read more

This thesis examines representations of nation, race and gender in three postcolonial texts: Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children; Meena Alexander's autobiographical memoirs Fault Lines; and Bengali writer Mahasweta Devi's collection of short stories entitled Imaginary Maps. All three texts reconfigure conventional accounts of nationhood by positing fictions based on what I am calling the poetics of displacement. The diasporic perspective provides Salman Rushdie's novel with the ability to suggest hybrid identities arising from the experience of cultural migration. In Meena Alexander's autobiography, displacement is figured in terms of both a diasporic and feminist vision that allows for the deconstruction of masculinist …  Read more

This dissertation examines the complex and multi-faceted ways in which contemporary minority women's fictions may be thought of, both generically and individually, as practices of bearing witness to silence---practices of giving testimony to the presence of lives, experiences, events and historical realities which, otherwise, have been absented from the critical terrain of North American literary studies. For the most pact, the texts included in this study all tell tales of various, and often extreme, forms of sexual, racial, gender, colonial, national and cultural violence. Through readings of select works by Toni Morrison, Shani Mootoo, Arundhati Roy, Louise Erdrich, M. K. …  Read more

A technique of kidney transplantation in the rat that was not dependent on optical aids was devised. The model was used to study the effects of massive l.P. administration of donor material at and after transplantation. Both fresh cellular homogenates and freeze-stored ultrasonicated material prolonged renal allograft survival as long as the preparations were donor specific. The mechanism of action was related to soluble donor material that escaped macrophage processing, using the principle of biological filtration to support this hypothesis. The localized graft-versus-host reaction (Elkins' model) confirmed and amplified the findings, and the concept of tolerogenic transplantation antigens was proposed.  Read more

The gut microbiota provides many critical functions to the human host, and alterations in the gut microbiota, known as dysbiosis, are correlated to a variety of diseases. The diversity of the gut microbiome during health and disease has been characterized in a range of populations and conditions, yet diversity measures do not consistently capture variations in bacterial activity. As bacterial diversity and activity are not always coupled, it is necessary to focus on bacterial activity and how it relates to disease onset. Thus in this work, we developed and applied single-cell methods to study physiological markers of bacterial activity such …  Read more

The flow produced by a rotating propeller is inherently unsteady and three-dimensional. Conventional design of propellers uses blade-element theory but becomes inaccurate in capturing three-dimensional vortical and compressible effects at the tips, as well as the effect on downstream bodies. A propeller is always attached to a fixed component that affects its performance, thus the need arises to couple a fixed domain to a rotating domain in an unsteady aerodynamic simulation. A finite element formulation for the simulation of propellers is presented in terms of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for unsteady, three-dimensional, viscous, compressible flows. The first step consists of …  Read more

Reader, Andrew J (Supervisor2)  Read more

Les archosauriens modernes ont des invasions pneumatiques extensives dérivées de leurs sinus nasales et tympaniques. Ils sont présents dans de nombreux fossiles d’archosauriens, mais l’histoire de leur évolution demeure incertaine. Une description complète de la pneumaticité crâniens d’un théropode ornithomimidé bien préservé aide à clarifier l’évolution de ces tissues mous à l’aide de donnés d’un scanneur CT et de la reconstruction 3D. Les sinus crâniennes de Omithomimus edmontonicus représentent presque tous les sinus crâniens des oiseaux et rajoutent de nouvelles informations en ce qui à trait aux ornithomimidés. Les comparaisons phylogénétiques de la pneumaticité crânienne à travers les théropodes avec …  Read more

Pour pouvoir étudier complètement les patrons d'évolution des tissus pour une espèce fossile donnée, il est essentiel d'établir l'anatomie et le développement des espèces actuelles appartenant à la même lignée. J'utilise ici le système pneumatique crânien - composé des sinus paranasaux et tympaniques – comme exemple d'anatomie des tissus mous chez deux especes d'oiseaux : Coturnix coturnix et Taeniopygia guttata. Tant sur le plan morphologique que sur le plan du développement, les connaissances sur ces sinus chez les oiseaux actuels sont relativement restreintes, causant ainsi un facteur limitant dans l'évaluation des patrons d'évolution de ces structures. Pour pouvoir obtenir rapidement …  Read more

This thesis presents a new approach to fault diagnosis in telecommunications. The principles of fuzzy theory and fuzzy expert systems will develop a framework for the diagnosis and analysis of results produced by the circuit measurement instruments of the telephone lines. The thesis is a case study in which a fault is isolated and then, membership functions are empirically produced to represent fault parameter behavior. Fuzzy system rules are then constructed and the whole module system is tuned and put to testing. The results of the tests are thoroughly discussed, concluding with recommendations for extending the case module study in …  Read more

McAdams, Stephen (Supervisor1)  Read more

Cette thèse explore l'impact du yoga dévotionnel (bhakti) sur les perceptions de la notion d'appartenance d'une diaspora Sud-Asiatique à Montréal. Depuis 1967, la Société Internationale de la Conscience de Krishna (ISKCON) a joué un rôle moteur dans la diffusion du chemin de la dévotion à Krishna et ce à travers le monde. Alors qu'ISKCON attirait initialement les jeunes Nord-Américains intéressés par les philosophies asiatiques, ce sont les communautés de la diaspora Sud-Asiatique qui ont porté le mouvement ces dernières décennies. Cependant, les recherches existantes n'ont pas accordé une attention adéquate à l'expérience de ces communautés au sein d'ISKCON. Ainsi, cette …  Read more

Abstract 4E-T, a novel binding partner of eIF4E protein, transports 4E from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. This protein is also involved in mRNA degradation. 4E-T binds to eIF4E and carries eIF4E-protein along with the mRNA to P-bodies, which is the site of mRNA degradation. In this study, we show that 4E-T is a phospho-protein and is phosphorylated on multiple sites. We tried to identify some of the phosphorylation sites on this protein. By using overlapping PCR, a triple phospho mutant of this protein was made. We also investigated if 4E-T is phosphorylated by the S6 kinase (S6K). Our results …  Read more

Many tissues in the human body are porous and tough. One treatment strategy for tissue repair and regeneration is the injection of biomaterials in the vicinity of the injured site. Most existing injectable biomaterials degrade over a short period of time and necessitate repeated injections, due in part to enzymatic reactions and fracture under mechanical load. Most biomaterials lack vascularization and are not perfusable, which hampers the recruitment of native cells in situ and leaves the cells in deeper layers starving for oxygen. It is postulated that injectable hydrogels that possess both a high permeability and mechanical toughness would improve …  Read more

Human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a heavily glycosylated cell surface protein that belongs to the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF). It is overexpressed in a wide variety of human cancers. CEA functions in vitro, at least, as an intercellular adhesion molecule. It has also been shown that ectopic expression of CEA can block myogenic differentiation of rat L6 and mouse C2C12 myoblasts. Both the intercellular adhesion function of CEA as well as the inhibition of myogenic differentiation are dependent on homophilic binding of its extracellular domains. Previous studies have demonstrated that homophilic binding of CEA is mediated by double reciprocal bonds between …  Read more

Ramaswamy, Hosahalli S. (Supervisor)  Read more

Dry Romano beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were soaked and cooked at temperatures ranging from 70 to 100$ sp circ$C for different time intervals. The rate of texture softening associated with each temperature was found to be consistent with two simultaneous pseudo first-order kinetic mechanisms 1 and 2. Approximately 40% of the firmness of Romano beans was lost by the rapid softening mechanism 1. The remaining firmness loss was characterized by mechanism 2 which was found to be much slower ($ sim$1/50th of the former). The temperature dependence indicator (z value) of reaction rate constants were 30 and 24 C$ sp circ$, …  Read more

Consumer's demand for more natural and high quality food products products, presenting health benefits, has increased over the years. Besides the nutritional aspects, an appealing appearance and texture is also required. Cloudiness or opacity (cloudy appearance) is an important citrus drinks property (orange, lime, lemon, etc.), since it gives natural fruit juice appeal. This property can be achieved through addition of clouding agents, which also help in uniform distribution of flavors throughout the liquid beverage. A common problem in the beverage industry is producing cloud or flavor emulsions that remain stable over the desired shelf life. Beverage cloud emulsions are …  Read more

Objective. To evaluate access to dental care for individuals with Down syndrome living with their families, as compared to those not living with families. Methods. A cross-sectional, observational study design was used. Data were collected through a questionnaire sent to the 2327 members of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the association between place of residence and a variety of indicators of access to dental care. Result. In the multivariate stage of analysis, after adjusting for possible confounders, significant association between place of residence and two dependent variables, indicated that individuals with DS …  Read more

Alvarez-Cuadrado, Francisco (Supervisor2)  Read more

Let (M, g) be a closed n-dimensional Riemannian manifold with metric g and Laplace-Beltrami operator Delta. Let 0 = l20 < l21 < ... be the eigenvalues of Delta. For the spectral counting function N(t) = #{j, lambda j ≤ t}, we give a detailed proof of Hormander's theorem states that: Nt=vol BnvolM 2pn tn/2+Ot n-1/2, where vol(Bn) is the volume of the n-dimensional unit ball and by O(t(n -1)/2) we mean a term which grows no faster than Ct (n-1)/2 as t tends to infinity. O(t (n-1)/2) is the sharp error term estimate in Weyl's law. (Actually we get …  Read more

Pshezhetsky, Alexei (Supervisor2)  Read more

La demande croissante de terminaux sans fil multimode et multistandard alimente l'intérêt pour des convertisseurs analogique-numérique (CAN) qui soient largement reconfigurables en terme de bande passante et de résolution. En outre, et pour des raisons d'efficacité énergétique, l'alimentation de ces CANs doit être modulable dans le but de maintenir une constante figure de mérite (FOM) dans tout l'espace de reconfigurabilité. Aussi, ces CANs doivent pouvoir être implémentés dans un technologie CMOS standard pour bénéficier d'un niveau d'intégration élevé de ses composants digitaux et analogiques ainsi qu'un plus faible cout de fabrication. Ceci dit, dans les technologies CMOS nanométriques, la diminution …  Read more

This Study shows that the Shehu's social writings are the reflection of his concept and method of implementation of tajdid. The basic goal of the tajdid was to recreate what he considered the ideal Sunni Islamic society. In order to achieve his objective he unfolded a plan of action which aimed at winning the support of the common people and the 'ulama'. For the people, he mounted a mass mobilization to boost religious learning, acquaint them with local beliefs adjudged as bad innovations, and exhort them about the impending End of Time. For the 'ulama', his plan was a reorientation …  Read more

The vitamin folate is involved in one-carbon metabolism and the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine. Disturbances in folate metabolism can result in an increased risk of neural tube defects (NTD), other birth defects or pregnancy complications. The most common cause of genetic folate deficiency is the MTHFR 677C>T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), which results in elevated levels of homocysteine and a thermolabile methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme with reduced activity. Another methyl donor for homocysteine remethylation is betaine, which is derived from the nutrient choline. The choline-betaine remethylation pathway is upregulated when folate metabolism is disturbed. While folate is present in …  Read more

Les matériaux composites sont utilisés pour de nombreuses applications autant dans l'industrie automobile qu'àérospatiale que des énergies renouvelables. Avec presque aucune émission pendant le fonctionnement, l'énergie éolienne est considérée comme une solution prometteuse en vue de la future demande énergétique qui sera accompagnée par des régulations de durabilité et environnementales plus strictes. Cependant, plusieurs études ont montré que les déchets provenant de pâles d'éoliennes non recyclables vont augement exponentiellement dans les prochaines décennies. La nature éclectique de matériaux composites représente un défi face à leur recyclage. Les matériaux à matrice thermodurcissable ne sont pas recyclables, ce qui amène un défi …  Read more

Plusieurs individus à travers le monde sont de plus en plus soucieux de trouver des moyens de réduire leur empreinte écologique alors que la menace du changement climatique induit par l’homme continue à augmenter. La consommation alimentaire des ménages contribue largement aux émissions mondiales de gaz à effet de serre dûes à l’utilisation élevée de terres et de l’eau dans la production alimentaire pour répondre à cette demande. Les pratiques de consommation alimentaire durable, telle que l’adoption d’un régime alimentaire à base de plantes, sont encouragées pour minimiser les effets écologiques de la production agricole. Malgré le fait qu’une alimentation …  Read more

Ce travail examine des processus de la mécanique des fluides impliquant le mouvement des ondes de choc a travers des chaînes. En particulier, la prédiction et le contrôle de mouvement du choc dans les entrées d'air ont une grande importance pour le vol ultra-rapide et pour les moteurs des vaisseau spatiaux futurs--c'est un problème fondamental dont la solution attire présentement un haut degré d'intérêt. Même si les processus de démarrage et non-démarrage d’entrées d’air sont considérés bien compris au niveau conceptuel, d'importants détails restent à régler.Dans la première partie de la thèse une étude analytique, numérique et expérimentale est réalisée. …  Read more

Background: Surgical care of elderly patients is vastly more complex than in younger adults. Its complexity is attributable to diminished physiologic reserves, a greater number of comorbidities, and potential cognitive impairment. Currently little is known about how elderly patients recover after abdominal surgery, and how is it measured. Because elderly patients will represent 75% of the surgical workload by 2020, it is essential to have an understanding of their surgical recovery in order to counsel them more appropriately with respect to surgical therapy. The aim of this thesis is to improve our understanding of how recovery is measured in elderly …  Read more

Background: As breast reconstruction evolves, plastic surgeons continue to find ways to improve their reconstruction' outcomes. The aim of our study is to demonstrate how plastic surgery research impacts and improves current surgical practices. For instance, we designed three clinical studies which illustrate how research can affect current popular surgical practices, not only during the pre-operative period, but also intra-operative and post-operative periods. Methods: In the first study, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate first the safety and efficacy of Thoracic ParaVertebral Block (TPVB) for breast surgery, and then to compare TPVB to General Anesthesia (GA) with regards to postoperative …  Read more

Solenoid actuators are one of the solutions for efficient gear shifting in electric vehicles (EVs). In this thesis, a new approach for modeling solenoid actuators is proposed. Moreover, a robust force controller for the actuators is designed using the proposed modeling approach. Such control problems are of interest in the study of gear shifting control in EVs equipped with an automated manual transmission. In this thesis, experimental system identification along with the finite element method (FEM) are employed to model the dynamic behavior of the solenoid actuators as well as the system uncertainties. Using experimental system identification, a dynamic model …  Read more

Hassani, Faramarz P (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

Les organismes multicellulaires génèrent la diversité fonctionnelle et morphologique de leurs cellules par une régulation spatiotemporel de l'expression de leur gène. L'expression de ces gènes est régulée par de multiples mécanismes au niveau de la transcription, de la traduction et de la dégradation. Pendant mon PhD, j'ai étudié la reprogrammation par des facteurs de transcription de cellules somatiques en cellules souches pluripotentes. Pour ce faire, j'ai adopté deux stratégies basées sur le control de la transcription par des modifications post-traductionnelles et le control de la traduction par le répresseur 4E-BP. Spécifiquement, dans le projet décrit dans le Chapitre III, j'ai …  Read more

The precarious relationship between Islam and art remains a moot question. The banning of a short story, a novel, a theatrical play, a film, a poem or any other kind of artistic enterprise is an attestation of such a crucial reference. Exploring the relation of Islam and literature, with Indonesian Islam as a background, this thesis will examine the short story Langit Makin Mendung written by Kipankjikusmin. Langit Makin Mendung, which was published in August 1968 in the magazine Sastra, was condemned by the majority of Indonesian Muslims, for it was considered to be blasphemous, insulting God, the Prophet, the …  Read more

The perirhinal cortex (PRC) and the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) are essential components of the medial temporal lobe memory system, but the functional organization and interconnectivity of these structures is poorly defined. In this thesis, novel in-vitro and in-vivo approaches were developed to investigate the synaptic organization, intrinsic properties and cholinergic modulation of neurons in the PRC and LEC. In-vivo and in-vitro field potential profiles, combined with current-source density analysis and in-vitro intracellular recordings, demonstrated the existence of bi-directional excitatory synaptic interactions between the PRC and the LEC. Intracellular recordings and dye injection were also used to perform a morphological …  Read more

Jordan Koch (Supervisor2)  Read more