McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par É

The village of Villagrande Strisaili, situated in central highlands of the island of Sardinia, Italy, is the subject of this ethnographic study of economic and cultural change. In Part I, a brief historical overview reveals that the pre-war society was largely subsistence based, with shepherding providing milk and cheese to sell on the market for cash. A strict division of labour and responsibilities by sex required mutual dependency of the male and female heads of a household, and supported local notions of gender equality. Part II examines the economic basis of and the restructuring of occupational opportunities in Villagrande today. …  Lire la suite

ln May 1962 the McGill University Savanna Research Project wasestablished and has been conducted since that date in the Department ofGeography p McGill University and in the savannas of the Rupununi Di strict pBritish Guiana and the Territorio do Rio Brancop Brazi!.It is generally recognised that although a very wide range of theoryhas been propounded to explain the nature and origin of savannas p no onehas yet brought forward a single convincing viewpoint which has met withuniversal acceptance. One reason for this is that the majority of theoriesextant are based upon inadequate fie ld data with almost a total lack …  Lire la suite

In May 1962 the McGill University Savanna Research Project was established and has been conducted since that date in the Department of Geography, McGill University and in the savannas of the Rupununi District, British Guiana and the Territorio do Rio Branco, Brazil. It is generally recognised that although a very wide range of theory has been propounded to explain the nature and origin of savannas, no one has yet brought forward a single convincing viewpoint which has met with universal acceptance. One reason for this is that the majority of theories extant are based upon inadequate field data with almost …  Lire la suite

Powder metallurgy (P/M) processing has become an important technique replacing many casting applications, especially for the fabrication of refractory metals where very high melting temperatures are required. Improvement in powder production, cleanliness and characterization techniques, combined with an increased understanding of basic compaction and sintering principles and a need for metals with high strength to weight ratios has led to an increased interest in titanium powder utilization. P/M techniques for Ti-6Al-4V powder can enable the production of high quality parts at lower processing temperatures and cost. For most applications prealloyed powder produced by the hydride-dehydride process (HDH) is used, due …  Lire la suite

The use of medical devices and drugs is constantly increasing in the United States. New techniques are developed, pharmaceutical companies manufactured thousands drugs and medical devices each year, these products are put on the market immediately; therefore, the consequences can be terrible. In the US, thousands even millions of people suffer from personal injuries because they use a defective medical product; this is referred as a mass tort. The class action procedure is often used in order to repair these personal injuries. Plaintiffs always ask for the use of this procedure, but the federal American courts always refuse the certification …  Lire la suite

The cap structure, m$ sp7$GpppX (where X = any nucleotide), is present at the 5$ sp prime$ end of all eukaryotic cellular messenger RNAs (except organellar). Previous studies have demonstrated that during protein synthesis the cap structure is recognized by a $ sim$24 kDa cap binding protein (CBP), termed eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF-4E). With the use of a newly developed cap-analogy affinity matrix a high molecular weight complex that contains eIF-4E was purified, termed eIF-4F. In addition to eIF-4E this CBP complex consists of eIF-4A and a 220 kDa polypeptide (p220). Using an RNA unwinding assay direct evidence was …  Lire la suite

Suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals may be prepared by hydrolysing wood pulp or cotton filter paper with sulfuric acid. Due to the rod-like shape of the nanocrystals, these aqueous suspensions display liquid crystalline behaviour. This thesis examines these unique suspensions at three different concentration ranges. At low cellulose concentrations the suspensions are disordered, becoming ordered upon reaching a critical concentration, which depends on the aspect ratio of the rods. AFM and TEM were used to characterize particle size and polydispersity. Just beyond the critical concentration for anisotropic phase formation is an intermediate concentration range in which the isotropic and anisotropic phases …  Lire la suite

The purpose of the study was to describe the relationship between motivation, job satisfaction, characteristics of nursing care delivery systems, and intent to leave, and to consider the applicability and usefulness of the Job Characteristics Model (JCM) of work motivation to the work of nursing in four McGill University teaching hospitals. The population consisted of over four hundred nurses who work in medical surgical units of four McGill University teaching hospitals. A total of one hundred and fifty-nine useable questionnaires were collected for a response rate of 40%. Respondents were full and part time nurses with an average age of …  Lire la suite

"If I would select among the deeds of the present government one which I would give as an instance approaching a revolution I should rather select that of Old Age Pensions ... It was no doubt a considerable change, but a change even if it be a revolution ... of which ample notice had been given." So spoke sir Edward Grey, in reference to the Act which the government in which he was Foreign Secretary passed in 1908 ( l). Credit for the grant of pensions to the aged has bean disputed as between the two historic parties in Britain, …  Lire la suite

Non-fatal burns remain the leading cause of morbidity for traumatic injuries worldwide and upper extremity (UE) burns occur in > 80% of cases. Given their crucial role in daily activities, hand burns can cause substantial functional limitations and substantially affect societal reintegration. Thus, restoring optimal hand function is a primary goal in burn survivor rehabilitation.Yet, no consensus or guidelines currently guide hand burn management across severities. The lack of high-quality evidence on effective interventions and the absence of standardized hand function assessments validated with burn survivors hinders both evidence synthesis and clinical reasoning. This also impacts effective patient care, as …  Lire la suite

The objective of this study was to determine the role of GCN2 in the response to AA deprivation of primary bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMEC). Cells were isolated from the mammary tissue of 2 lactating Holstein cows by enzymatic digestion, expanded, and induced to differentiate for 5-7 d. Relative mRNA expression was measured by real-time quantitative PCR. Protein abundance and site-specific phosphorylation were measured by immunoblotting. Knockout of GCN2 in BMEC was accomplished by lentiviral delivery of a targeted single guide RNA and endonuclease Cas9. To investigate the role of GCN2, we treated lactogenic differentiated BMEC with either culture medium …  Lire la suite

It has been said by many scholars that at the present the Middle East is grappling with the problem of Westernization. For us to comprehend this problem, they say that we must analyze and understand what this process of Westernization is and what it involves. This is true; yet there is a need for a clarification of terms and ideas before one proceeds with such a study. In the first place, what is meant by the term Westernization?  Lire la suite

Les microtubules sont une composante essentielle du cytosquelette. Ces longs tubes fait de dimères d’α/β-tubuline sont impliqués dans la division cellulaire, la migration et la différentiation. Les microtubules peuvent accomplir une grande variété de tâches grâce à leur instabilité dynamique, c’est-à-dire leur capacité de passer entre des phases de polymérisation et de dépolymérisation. En effet, le réseau de microtubules est constamment déconstruit et reconstruit. Une régulation précise au niveau spatiotemporelle de l’élongation, du rétrécissement et de la transition entre ces phases est donc essentielle à la survie de la cellule. Dans cette thèse, je discuterai ma caractérisation in vitro de …  Lire la suite

McClure, Ghyslaine (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The synthesis of RDX, a powerful high explosive, was accomplished in 1940 at McGill by reaction of a mixture of paratormaldehyde, ammonium nitrate, and acetic anhydride. A study was made of the conditions affecting the yield of RDX from the reaction, and a new method of conducting it found which enabled the reaction to be controlled When run in large batches, and which increased the yield to 50%. No means of purification was found yielding a product melting above 200° (British Specifications) without involving a large loss of material. From a study of the consumption of reactants and thermal phenomena …  Lire la suite

Ruben, Harold  Lire la suite

Evidence from paleopathology indicates that cancer is a very ancient disease. Preserved relies of prehistoric times reveal wide geographic and zoologic distribution of malignancy. Dinosaurs of the Mesozoic period are said to have shown signs of cancer, and other evidence of its antiquity (Sambon cited by Haddow) (68) are to be found in the treasures of the pyramids, from the Etruscan tombs, from Peruvian mummies and from the cuneiform tablets of the library of Nineveh. The earliest medical record known to man (94) is the "Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus". This anonymous relic of antiquity is generally regarded by historians as …  Lire la suite

Braun, Peter E. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The vibrational spectra (IR, Raman) of (eta6-C 6H5CO2CH3)Cr(CO)3, (eta 6-C6H5CO2CH3)Cr(CO) 2(CS), [Pt(NH3)4][PtCl4] (MGS), [Pt(ND 3)4] [PtCl4] (MGS-D), [Pt(NH 3)4][PtBr4] (MGS-Br), ReH7(dppe) (dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane) and CpCo(C64H4) (Cp = cyclopentadiene) have been studied under pressures up to ~45 kbar. The magnitude and direction of the pressure-induced shift of the Raman-active nu(CO) and nu(CS) vibrational modes of (eta6-C6H 5CO2CH3)Cr(CO)3 and (eta6 -C6H5CO2CH3)Cr(CO) 2(CS) indicate an increase in the amount of pi-backbonding to the CO and CS ligands, under pressure, the increase being greater to the CO ligand than to the CS ligand. Wavenumber vs. pressure plots revealed a phase transition in both …  Lire la suite

Aujourd'hui les Acadiens ferment un peuple d'environ un million dames, dont plus de soixante-six mille se trouvent en Nouvelle-Ecosse, descendants des premiers, colons du pays d’Évangeline. Dans quelle mesure les Acadiens de la Nouvelle-Ecosse ont-ils conservé leur culture française? Comment ont-ils pu maintenir jusqu’à nos ours leur langue et leur civilisation? Quel est l'avenir du peuple acadien comme groupe ethnique en Nouvelle- Ecosse? Le présent travail base non seulement sur ce qui a déjà été écrit, mais surtout sur les développements récents et sur la situation actuelle des Acadiens de la province, répond a ces questions. […]  Lire la suite

The metabolic rate in poikilotherms, or ectotherms, is greatly influenced by changes in the environmental temperature. Insects, in most cases, may be considered to be typically poikilothermic. There exists a specific response in metabolic rate to changes in temperature, under specific conditions. The response of insect metabolism to temperature, within the limits of the effective temperature range, traces an unbroken curve when the oxygen consumption per unit weight is plotted against temperature. The effective temperature range has been defined by R. N. Chapman (1931) as the range within which the metabolism of an insect is not actually inhibited by adverse …  Lire la suite

In practice the separation usually involves more than two minerals, and can rarely be successful with a simple mixture of oil and water, secondary agents such as acid or alkali being introduced to change the surface tension of the oil or water, and also to react chemically on the surface of one or more of the minerals under treatment. [...]  Lire la suite

Schizophrenia is a debilitating disorder with a life-time prevalence of approximately 0.5-1% worldwide. Diagnosis usually occurs in early adulthood and is based on the presentation of classical symptoms. Schizophrenia has a complex etiology involving multiple genes, neurotransmitter systems, and a number of different brain areas. Inhibitory GABA neurons, and the parvalbumin-positive (PV+) subset in particular, are disrupted in a number of crucial brain areas. Both human and animal studies of schizophrenia have found reductions in PV+ neuron markers, along with alterations in GABA synthesizing enzyme (GAD67) and receptor profiles, in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), an area involved in higher cognitive …  Lire la suite

In spite of the faot that the disappearanoe of a menisous, the sharp visibLe line of dematcation between a liquid and the vapor above it. was observed over a centuxy ago. thereis still considerable oontroversy over the natuxe of the changes giving rise to the phenomenon. In general two points of view have been adopted. [...]  Lire la suite

Soit G un graphe, et T un sous-ensemble de ses sommets de cardinalité pair. Nous appelons (G,T) une greffe. Définissons par T-jointure tout sous-graphe de G dans lequel les sommets de degré impair sont précisement ceux de l'ensemble T, et par T-coupure tout coupure delta(S) où S contient un nombre impair de sommets de T. Une question intéressante en optimisation combinatoire est celle de trouver les T-jointures et T-coupures optimales. Nous donnons un aperçu de divers problèmes d'optimisation auxquels ceux-ci s'appliquent, ainsi que plusieurs algorithmes pour trouver les T-jointures et T-coupures optimales.Nous considérons ensuite un problème d'empaquetage dans les greffes. …  Lire la suite

Van de Ven, Theodorus G. (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Irrigation practices change the soil moisture in agricultural fields, and in turn influence the emissions of greenhouse gases. A two year field study was conducted to assess the emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O from surface drip and subsurface drip irrigated tomato fields in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Gas fluxes were obtained through the static chamber method, taking samples every 15 minutes over a one hour time period. Soil moisture and soil temperature were measured once per chamber per hour and used to help explain the gas emissions. A peak mean N2O flux at 405 µg N2O-N m-2 h-1 was observed …  Lire la suite

This thesis is written in the department of English literature; therefore I have refrained from discussion of the work of the French-Canadians, as dramatists or as players. I have not given the biographical facts of writers resident in Canada, but only of those who have left their home land and are too frequently considered natives of other countries. I do not presume to speak with finality. After all, in drama as well as in all forms of literature, time is the supreme test, and either fortunately or unfortunately, a graduate student does not belong to that aristocracy of time, by …  Lire la suite

Collin-Vezina, Delphine (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Students do not always know how or when to ask for help and they may lack the skills to initiate work on their own without guidance, otherwise known as "independent learning". Independent learning is a skill that leads to school success and it is proposed that improvements of independent learning would also reduce the engagement of risky behaviors. Therefore, the proposed research examined whether implementing a novel intervention on independent learning would improve independent learning strategies, overall academic performance, and reduce risky behaviors, among adult education students. Students receiving the intervention were compared to a control group receiving no intervention. …  Lire la suite

To identify predictors of infant-care behaviours among immigrants, women were recruited on hospital postpartum units. Among the 3,484 women screened, 11.8 percent were eligible for enrollment and 77.3 percent agreed to participate. The follow-up rate was 94 per cent. Data on predictor variables were collected during face-to-face interviews in the early postpartum period. Follow-up telephone interviews occurred at three months postpartum to assess infant-care behaviours. Using a chunkwise, hierarchial approach to multiple linear regression modelling, maternal and infant predictors accounted for 24.2 percent of the variance in the 'Infant-care Behaviours' Score. In the second stage of model building, ethnocultural variables …  Lire la suite

La phase de croissance d'un ovocyte, sa fécondation, et son développement, pour aboutir à un embryon préimplantatoire, sont des processus complexes et hautement controlés pour permettre la croissance du fœtus jusqu'au terme. La régulation de l'expression des gènes doit se faire correctement et est essentielle pour l'acquisition de la compétence développemental. Le profil d'expression de certains gènes peut être monitoré grâce à des stratégies génétiques, comme avec l'utilisation de souris transgéniques. Des travaux précédents ont montré que le gène rapporteur TCF/Lef-LacZ (gène LacZ réagissant au complexe T-Cell Factor/Lymphoid Enhancing Factor) permet de monitorer certains aspects de l'implantation embryonnaire chez la …  Lire la suite

Leung, Brian (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Mayo, Nancy (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

DNA is used for the storage and propagation of genetic information in all living organisms. It is the programmability and molecular recognition properties of DNA which make this possible. Taking advantage of these properties, researchers have developed DNA self-assembly as a highly predictable method of bottom-up nanofabrication. The resulting nanostructures have the potential to solve important problems in diverse fields, from nanophotonics to gene therapy. To date most DNA nanostructures have been made purely from unmodified, natural DNA. To achieve structural complexity needed for functional devices, researchers have created intricate designs which often require a large number of DNA strands …  Lire la suite

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia affecting about 500,000 people in Canada and 24 million people worldwide. As AD has been known to be heavily related to lipid & cholesterol metabolism both in the brain and in the periphery, as evidenced by both high plasma LDL levels and increased occurrence of the apolipoprotein E ε4 polymorphism being well-established risk factors, it is important to develop models highly aligned to the human AD profile, particularly in terms of lipid metabolism-related processes. Our lab found that when cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP), a protein that shuttles cholesteryl esters …  Lire la suite