McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1945

Under natural conditions, cellulose is biochemically one of the most important compounds to reach the soil by means of plant residues. This is especially true of forest soils and pastures. In agricultural soils, under crops, the normal equilibrium between groups of microorganisms is slightly displaced by the introduction of plant residues and by the addition of manure. There is also a large addition of cellulose and,at the same time, other reserve material from plowing in the roots of annual crops. In normal soils, cellulose becomes decomposed under the combined action of fungi and aerobic bacteria. Of these two groups of …  Lire la suite

The following investigations have been carried out on recommendation and with the financial assistance of the Associate Committee of Army Medical Research of the National Research Council of Canada and constitute two independent research problems. Part I deals with a study of the feasibility of sprouted cereal and legume seeds as a source of vitamins in the army ration for troups in isolated areas. This work has been carried out at Macdonald College under the direction of Dr. W. D. McFarlane. Part II deals with a study of the vitamin metabolism in patients suffering from various types of acute damage. …  Lire la suite

The Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant, has been reported in the southern part of the province of Quebec since the summer of 1943. This insect is known to be a serious pest of beans in the eastern United States and damage to the bean crop amounts to many hundred thousand dollars annually. In the province of Quebec, it is now present only in restricted areas along the international border and damage to the bean crop has already begun. The insect will very likely extend its distribution northward and its importance as a destructive pest of beans will grow accordingly. …  Lire la suite

Prior to the introduction of a suitable control policy for the internal parasites of sheep in Canada it was believed by competent authorities that parasitic disease was the greatest deterrent to profitable production of sheep in many parts of the country. Particularly in Eastern Canada, even with the general methods of control employed at that time, losses through internal parasitism continued to occur in lambs and breeding stock. In 1936 Swales initiated a thorough investigation into the incidence and economic importance of the parasites of sheep in Canada which eventually culminated in a highly successful control program. One of the …  Lire la suite

The inability of swine as a species to utilize large quantities of fibrous material in the diet has led to much controversy, on the part of investigators and feeders, over the relative merits of certain feeds. The pig must rely largely on its caecum for the breakdown of dietary cellulose, thus the limited capacity of this organ must be considered in the interests of efficiency of production. It is evident that if the animal is forced to consume a diet which is bulky and highly indigestible it may become physically impossible to provide sufficient nutrients to promote maximum gains in …  Lire la suite

That part of the soil which is composed of colloidal material is thought to be the seat of most of the reactions of the soil. Among the properties attributed to the colloidal fraction are those of base exchange, adsorption and retention of plant nutrients, reactivity toward chemical reagents, solubility, heat of wetting and water holding capacity (4). Bouyoucos (5) believes the physical properties of soils are largely controlled by the colloidal material while Truog (34) has indicated the function of soil colloids in plant nutrition. More recently Jenny and Overstreet (14) have suggested that cations are interchanged by plant roots …  Lire la suite

Since Atkinson (1699), who was the first cytologist to investigate the andromeiosis of Trillium, the species of this Asiatico-American genus have been largely used by cytogeneticists. The large dimensions of their chromosomes (“average 30 microns in length by three microns in width in somatic divisions” Warmke, 1941, 1937) and their low number (the basic haploid number is 5) were good features for the study of mitosis and meiosis mechanisms and chromosomes structure. Due to technical facilities, the root tip cells and androsporogenetic tissue were the basic material mainly employed; the gynohaplogenesis and the embryology were almost neglected though it was …  Lire la suite

The reaction between copper and dithiocarbamic acid derivatives produces a brown coloured complex which absorbs light at 435 m.u. When this reaction is applied to the determination of copper, it provides a very sensitive method that can detect, and measure accurately, concentrations as low as 0.1 µ.g. of copper. For this particular determination, the dithiocarbamic acid derivatives function as the reagent. It should be possible, however, to apply the same reaction to the determination of dithiocarbamio acid derivatives by using the copper component as the reagent. If the determination was limited to the dithiocarbamic acids as such the method would …  Lire la suite

The problem may be divided according to the following use : (a) A product which oan be employed as a phlegmatizer for high explosives. (b) A product which can be used as a binder in burning mixtures. (·c) A product which can be used to give crystalline high explosives a fluidity suitable for shell-pouring and which sets to form a rigid mass.[...]  Lire la suite

Rate curves have been determined for the reagtion of ammonia and formaldehyde in aqueous solution at 0 c. and 35 c., over a range of initial mole ratios {formaldehyde: ammonia) of 0.25 to 2.0. For each set of conditions, three curves have been obtained on the basis of ammonia consumed, formaldehyde consumed and material precipitated with mercuric chloride. At o0 c. the three rate curves tend to approximate one another in a large excess of runmonia but are widelg separated in excess formaldehyde. The reverse is true at 35 c. The reaction is characterized by a high initial rate of …  Lire la suite

A process has been devised for the recovery of glacial acetic acid from the waste products of the Bachmann reaction. The method involves the removal of nitric acid as ammonium nitrate, a “fume-off” of the filtrate with sulphuric acid and a distillation in the presence of sulphuric acid. No stainless steel equipment and only a minimum of supervision is required for the process. Oleum and/or sulphuric acid are not practical dehydrating agents in this process. [...] An instrument in the form of a rotating tube has been developed for an accurate determination of the effects of the variables, encountered in …  Lire la suite

Soil surveys are revealing the location and extent of phosphorus deficient soils in Eastern Canada, and recommendations for fertilizer practice are being made. The primary objective of fertilization is to improve crop yield. It is, however, desirable to have information on the composition of unfertilized crops from such areas, and also on the extent and duration of the effect of fertilization on crop composition. The principal objective of the present investigation has been to study the behaviour of forage crops under such conditions. Studies of this nature usually have been confined to the determination of the total amounts of calcium …  Lire la suite

Fifteen Mile Stream gold district, Nova Scotia, is situated on a composite anticlinal dome. The folded rocks are the Goldenville formation of quartzites with interbedded slates, believed to be Pre-Cambrian in age. Interbedded quartz veins of saddle vein type occur in slates, along slate-quartzite contacts and rarely in the quartzites. Sections of these veins contain sufficient gold to constitute ore bodies. The dome has been truncated by erosion. The district has been sheared regionally and shows a well defined fracture pattern consisting of two sets of main shears with their accompanying fractures. The local fold structure did not control the …  Lire la suite

The present study was undertaken to correlate the water-retaining properties of the “plasma substitutes” with the concentrations attained in the blood stream, storage in tissue, and any pathological changes brought about by their presence or excretion. A review of the literature on the use of foreign colloids as plasma substitutes is presented. Experimental work on gum acacia, polyvinyl alcohol, starch, dextrin, isinglass and dextran is given. Gum acacia was found to be stored, mainly in the liver, and to cause marked blood changes. Polyvinyl alcohol produces similar changes but is not stored. Starch and dextrin are very rapidly hydrolyzed in …  Lire la suite

One of the most convenient methods for improving the rate of drying of certain materials is the use of pulsating air, which causes a breathing action in the cavities of the material where Lewis‘s law for the rate of vaporization in still air can be assumed to hold. A very misleading interpretation of the principle can often come about by confusing the word “pore” in the literature on pulsating air, with its true definition as a micro-dimensional void in the material to be dried. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to clear up this confusion by making experimental …  Lire la suite

This paper is a report on the stability of vitamin A in feeding fish oil, and the antioxidant effect of wheat germ oil when added to mixed diets before storage. The increase in weight of rats is used as the criterion for vitamin A intake. There was evidence for deterioration in the nutritive value of feeds stored for sixty days. This could not be related to a loss in vitamin A potency and wheat germ oil was not effective in preventing it.  Lire la suite

Since the discovery and isolation of choline by Strecker in 1849, many workers have devoted much time to the study of this important compound. The importance of choline as a portion of the lecithin molecule, has been known for some time, but it was not until after the discovery of insulin that choline came to be recognized as an essential constituent of the diet. While discussing the physiological aspects of choline, McHenry (31) states that it may function in at least three ways: “to stimulate the formation of phospholipids, to make possible the production of acetylcholine and to supply labile …  Lire la suite

The perineural space of the peripheral nerve has been investigated periodically since its discovery by Domenico Cotugno in 1770. The study of Key and Retzius in 1876 suggested that it might be of more than anatomical significance. Weed’s findings published in 1914 proved that, under practically physiological conditions, the subarachnoid space and the perineural space communicated. Orr and Rows in their reports published from 1903 to 1918 concluded that it provided a pathway by which infectious agents and their toxic products reached the spinal cord. Interest in the perineural space has again been aroused by the possible role the space …  Lire la suite

Contains brief historical summary; outline of theory of water hammer; graphical method of analysis; theory of piezo-electric pressure indicator; results of tests of pressure rise due to instantaneous valve closure; analysis of pressure wave produced by indicator; discussion; bibliography.  Lire la suite

A storage rot due to the fungus Gloeosporium album Osterw. was described in Switzerland by Osterwalder (12) in 1907. This storage rot was reported from Switzerland by Schne1der-Orelli (17) in 1912, from Belgium by Marchal and Marchal (10) in 1921, and from England by Kidd and Beaumont (7) in 1924. Ogilvie (11) reported in 1935 that its occurrence in England was on the increase. An apple storage rot, since identified as caused by Gloeosporium album was observed by the writer in 1934-35 at the Dominion Experimental Station, Fredericton, New Brunswick. A preliminary note dealing with investigations conducted at Fredericton was …  Lire la suite

After damage there is a disturbance or protein metabolism the extent of which has been shown to be influenced by the previous state of health or nutrition of the animal. As yet the underlying mechanisms regulating these post-traumatic metabolic processes is unknown, but it has been suggested that the endocrine system, particularly the adrenal cortex may occupy an integral role. The experiments to be described arose out or the observation by Cuthbertson that rats on a protein-free diet for 14 days did not show any increase in the excretion of urinary nitrogen after fracture of the left femur on the …  Lire la suite

Acute postoperative aseptic leptomeningitis is a complication which appears in some patients during the period following a wide surgical opening of the cerebral ventricles or the cisterna magna, and rarely the spinal meninges. The syndrome consists of recurrent bouts of fever, rigidity of the neck associated with an increase of the white blood cells contained in the cerebrospinal fluid, although it is shown to be sterile according to the ordinary bacteriological methods. The term aseptic postoperative meningitis was introduced into the medical literature by Finlayson and Penfield in 1941, when they delineated the clinical entity and traced its importance. In …  Lire la suite

The social drama of the Thirties constitutes a large body of American Literature, but the valuable material is actually a comparatively small distillate of the entire production. There are two outstanding reasons why the Thirties saw such a great interest in the presentation of social problems in the theatre. In the first place, these were hurried years for Americans, and the drama presented education, entertainment and propaganda in a very convenient capsule-like form. In the second place, the Thirties were one of the most interesting and eventful decades; from the social point of view, that mankind has seen since the …  Lire la suite

Heard, R. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

A study of a living author is in many respects inconclusive. In certain other and considerable respects, however, such a study can contribute valuable material to the work done so far. While no last word can be said, a more vivid impression of the times in which the author wrote can be offered by a contemporary rather than by a historical outlook. This thesis will consider the work of Ernest Hemingway in relation to the school of American novelists who are known as “Naturalists”. It is not my intention in this work to include all of Mr. Hemingway’s writings. His …  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 interest in the problem of the French Canadian habitant who, upon entering industry, comes into conflict with a system of principles and practices so entirely different from his own, was derived from the experience gained through working in the Medical Department of Canadian Industries Limited and of its wartime subsidiary, Defence Industries Limited, where the writer was employed during the course of this study. [...]  Lire la suite

The potatoes, grown for use as a vegetable are not sold on the basis of their composition, and more or less definite values are commonly assigned for their chemical content and nutritive value. Yet experimental evidence conclusively proves that this crop does vary in composition, quality and yield. The evidence is fairly convincing that there are inherent differences in yield, composition and quality ratings among varieties, as well as variations due to climatic factors, date of planting, and maturity; and while there is some ground for the belief that these variations in potato may be related to soil fertility or …  Lire la suite

Until about 1925, geneticists were mainly concerned with the demonstration, confirmation, modification and extension of Mendel’s laws, and with their bearing on the problem of evolution. The genes were thought of as discrete units, and interest was focussed mainly on their identification and localization on the chromosomes, and the way in which they were combined, segregated and transmitted through the germ cells. More recently the attention of geneticists has turned more and more from what Goldschmidt (1938) terms the ‘static’ towards the ‘dynamic’ aspects of genetic research; namely, the causal relationships existing between the genotype and the phenotype. It is …  Lire la suite

Much investigation has been carried on as to the origin, genetics and, more recently, cytology of the oat plant. Since oats are commonly self-fertilized plants, they tend with time and cultivation to produce “pure lines”. However, “pure line” plants do not always breed true and occasionally produce “off-types” of aberrant individuals, differing from the parent plant in one or more characteristics. The “false wild oat” or “fatuoid” differs from the normal cultivated oat from which it arose mainly in the possession of a stronger awn, stronger pubescence at the base of the grain, and a horse-shoe-shaped articulation or “sucker-mouth”. These …  Lire la suite

Kinetic studies were made on the condensation of chloral and chlorobenzene in sulfuric acid, to investigate the mechanism of the reaction and to determine optimum conditions for formation of p,p'-DDT. The proportion of p,p'-DDT appearing in the crude product is constant during the progress of a given reaction, and is independent of all factors other than temperature. The intermediate in the formation of p,p'-DDT from chloral and chlorobenzene is 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2,2- trichloroethanol. Unreacted chloral remains after all the DDT is formed when the theoretical amounts of chloral and chlorobenzene are used. Excess chlorobenzene raises the yield of DDT based on chloral. …  Lire la suite

The purpose of this historical review is essentially to record the results of experimental investigations into the effect of addition agents on the electrodeposition of metals, particularly the effect of gelatin on the deposition of copper from acid copper sulphate solutions, since it is with this type of system that the majority of the recorded work has been concerned. [...] As a rule, each investigation has been restricted to the study of one or two variables over a comparatively narrow range of experimental conditions, followed either by an explanation of the results on the basis of available theories or, very …  Lire la suite

There are a series of mutants of melanogaster which affect body coloration. Kalmus (41) has stated that he has found a relationship among these mutants between colour and susceptibility - namely that the darker cuticle - (a) gives better protection from desiccation. (b) absorbs and loses more heat. (c) is less easy to wet. (d) is tougher and mechanically more resistant. Kalmus (42) has shown experimentally that the yellow mutant of Drosophila melanogaster is more susceptible to dessication, and that the black mutant is more resistant than the wild type to - (a) dessication (b) exposure to a mixture of …  Lire la suite

The renal lesion which is seen in certain fatal transfusion reactions, the crush syndrome, blackwater fever, haemolytic sulphonamide reactions, eclampsia, and severe burns, has been found to be of a characteristic type, invariably showing degenerative changes in tubular epithelium along with the presence of pigment casts low in the nephron. These casts were, undoubtedly, derived from the haemoglobin or allied pigments circulating in the blood plasma in all these disorders. For this reason many investigators have sought a common mechanism for the renal failure accompanying this morbid picture; some holding tubular blockage by pigment casts to be the underlying factor; …  Lire la suite

“Toxemia of pregnancy” defines a syndrome or disease occurring during pregnancy. It includes preeclamsia and eclampsia, and may affect seriously the lives of the mother or foetus during pregnancy. This disease may exert a serious late effect on the renal and cardiovascular systems of the mother. Toxemia of pregnancy is characterized by rapid and excessive gain in weight, usually associated with oedema, elevation of arterial pressure, albuminuria, and symptoms referable to the central nervous system. Various renal, gastrointestinal and visual symptoms may also appear. These changes develop in various combinations during the last trimester of pregnancy, and rapidly disappear after …  Lire la suite

In the course of a survey of media to substitute for corn-steep liquor in the production of penicillin by submerged culture, the basic nutrition of Penicillium notatum N.R.R.L. 832 was investigated. To this end a plate technique was developed for rapidly assessing the value of natural crude media as potential sources for penicillin production. With this technique and later by actual deep culture of the mold it was found that any crude wheat extract such as starch washings or a by-product of the fermentation industries, namely distillers’ solubles, was as good as corn-steep liquor for the production of penicillin by …  Lire la suite

The present educational program in the forces has been much more extensive than that which existed in any previous war. Not only has it been necessary for the Army, Navy and Air Force to introduce an educational program of their own, but there have been available as well other educational facilities. Millions of dollars have been spent on education for young people in uniform. This expenditure is, in itself, an indication that much educational work has gone on and that it is worthy of notice by educators everywhere. This has been the first extensive adult education program financed by the …  Lire la suite

[...] The following study has been undertaken as a result of the bewilderment engendered by widely varying critical verdicts as to Mr. Cabell’s place in American literature as well as to the nature and purpose of his writings. It need not be emphasized that an awareness of the disagreement evident in such conflicting interpretation must inevitably lead to the conclusion that much of it is misinterpretation. Because of the remarkable variety of critical judgments, an attempt has been made in the following pages to present, as nearly as possible in his own words, Mr. Cabell’s intention. For the same reason …  Lire la suite

Although Whitman is often called the father of modern American poetry, we might more correctly ascribe the position to Emerson, for it was Emerson’s rallying charges which inspired Whitman. Emerson’s call for intellectual freedom, self-trust, self-culture and self-development was heard by Whitman who developed his message. In his Phi Beta Kappa address at Cambridge, Emerson shocked his listeners by declaring that they had gathered together, not for games of strength or skill, or for literary recitations, but simply as “a friendly sign of the survival of the love of letters amongst a people too busy to give to letters any …  Lire la suite

A total of 308 guinea pigs were used in a series of four experiments designed to determine some of the factors, other than vitamin C, which might affect the odontoblast cell method of assaying vitamin C. Neither the previous diet of the mothers, and young up to weaning time, nor the method of penning during the test, made any difference on the development of the odontoblast cell. The minimum length of feeding period, using this method, was found to be 5 weeks. Chemical, growth and odontoblast methods of assay were compared on an unknown solution, concentrated orange juice, and dehydrated …  Lire la suite

This book, when originally conceived, was part of a much larger plan. I began some time ago to analyse the functions of government in the international society. I wanted to demonstrate that the problem of government in that society is the same as it is within States. In the international as in the national sphere, the effective performance of any one of the functions of government (i.e. the legislative, the judicial, the executive and the administrative functions) depends upon the effective performance of each of the other functions. There can be no effective supra-national or world government, and hence no …  Lire la suite

The simplification of thermodynamical analysis by the use of Jacobians is extended to systems determined by three independent variables. The detailed analysis is carried out for the case of a system in which all the component masses but one are constant. Tables are given which simplify considerably the problem of deriving relations between first partial derivatives for systems of this type. The results are applied to a single component system of variable mass, and to other special systems of practical importance. [...]  Lire la suite

Kinetic studies at 1°C and at 30°C show that both solvents have a harmful effect on the reaction rate and on the yield of RDX for a given nitric acid:hexamine ratio below a certain optimum value. At the optimum, however, the maximum yield of 80% is obtained with both solvents at both temperatures. The deleterious effect of acetic acid is of a larger order of magnitude than that of chloroform, and may be explained on the assumptions that the active nitrolyzing agent is nitracidiumion and that acetic acid and nitric acid form a complex which is more highly dissociated at …  Lire la suite

[...] The concentration of vitamin A is not a simple problem. Present processes are somewhat expensive, time consuming, and entail several difficulties. Furthermore, the residual oil, after vitamin A extraction, is changed chemically and generally has no industrial value. On the other hand, certain industries use large amounts of fish oils for purposes in which the vitamin A content is of no concern, so that potential sources of vitamin A are lost in industrial processing. It would be advantageous if the prior extraction of vitamin A could be carried out economically. The need, therefore, arises for a cheap and simple …  Lire la suite

This survey attempts to form a connected picture of the history of some eighteen centuries of the Education of Englishwomen. The phenomenal success of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in achieving the right of all girls to elementary education at least has been frequently recorded of late, for the sources are full and abundant. They are considerably less so in the case of the first eighteen hundred years. As far as the writer is aware there has been no official history of women’s education written of the ages preceding 1800. Such information as has been used here was drawn from …  Lire la suite

Il s’agit dans cette thèse de reconstruire, non pas la vie de la société de la deuxième moitié du dix-septième siècle, mais le tableau que Mme. de Sévigné, la plus célèbre épistolière de l’époque, et ses correspondants et amis, nous en présentent. C’est pourquoi je ne me suis pas occupé du grand nombre d’ouvrages savants qui ont été écrits sur cette époque que dans le cas où cela a servi à éclaircir quelque endroit un peu obscur dans les Lettres. La seule source proprement dite de cette thèse est d’une part ce qui jaillit de la plume de Mme. de …  Lire la suite

[...] The stability of the intermediate at higher temperatures should be established and correlated with the low yields obtained at high temperatures as a possible reason for the loss in yleld. This could be done by forming the intermediate at low temperatures, after which the reaction would be stirred for a given length of time at high temperatures, and the amount of intermediate meaoured by reacting with chlorobenzene at lower temperatures. The yield obtained would be a measure of the intermediate, plus remaining carbinol, present. Every effort should be made to isolate the intermediate. Two metbods for attempting the isolation …  Lire la suite

Forest entomological control is primarily dependent on a thorough knowledge of the interrelationships of all insects existing in the forest. Some of these insects rise and fall in population and periodically are capable of causing much damage when a high population is attained. To these we devote our greatest attention. (Quite often, however, we mistakenly pass over other forest insects which appear to remain at a more or less constant level of population and which give us no economical concern. The biological importance of this latter group is axiomatically almost unknown. We know very little of the part played by …  Lire la suite

[...] Tertiary octyl, decyl, dodecyl and hexadecyl mercaptans were investigated as modifiers in the emulsion eo-polymerization of butadiene and styrene. The rate of disappearance of these mercaptans followed a rst-order equation during the first half of the polymerization, in accordance with the theory of chain-transfer mechanism. During the later part of the reaction, a more rapid disappearance rate occurred. The rate of disappearance increased with decreasing chain-length of the mercaptan. The intrinsic viscosities and the molecular weight distribution of polymers obtained at different conversions generally agreed with the activity of each mercaptan as a modifying agent. Values for the regulating …  Lire la suite

The methods for determining the lysine content of purified proteins are still not entirely satisfactory, notwithstanding the many investigations which have been made since Osborne and Mendel(1) in 1914 first demonstrated its essential role in metabolism. Furthermore, our knowledge of the biochemistry of lysine has been impeded by the lack of reliable methods of analysis. For instance, nutritional studies would be greatly facilitated by the elaboration of a sensitive micromethod for the rapid determination of lysine in crude plant and animal tissues and in biological fluids. Available methods for the determination of lysine may be classified into three groups, (a) …  Lire la suite