McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1997

In this study, the reaction kinetics and mechanism of kraft pulping with polysulfide and anthraquinone(AQ) using black spruce wood were investigated. In preliminary studies, the synergistic effect of polysulfide and AQ on pulp yield improvement was verified by different methods. The identical kinetic cooking experiments were conducted for Kraft, Kraft-AQ, Polysulfide, and Polysulfide-AQ processes in the temperature range between 151 and 180ºC. It was found that the delignification rate of the PSAQ process was the fastest. The activation energies of delignification of Kraft, Kraft-AQ, Polysulfide, and Polysulfide-AQ processes were calculated as 141, 131, 142, and 131 kJ/mol, respectively. Based on …  Lire la suite

The use of agricultural chemicals often results in water pollution. This research, comprising three parts, was designed to investigate the role of soil and grass strips and water table management in reducing pesticide and nitrate residues in drainage waters. The first part of the research was made on lysimeters to investigate the effects of soil and grass cover under two water table management regimes. Four treatments were involved: subsurface drainage, controlled drainage, grass cover, and bare soil. Each treatment consisted of three replicates. Contaminated water containing atrazine, metolachlor, and metribuzin residues was applied to the lysimeters and samples of drain …  Lire la suite

The field of international air transport is one of complex regulation. When it comes to foreign direct investment (FDI) in this area regulators have long sought to protect the industry from outside control and ownership. Recently, however, a more liberal attitude is emerging towards FDI as one which embraces this source of capital. The questions that this dissertation will try to answer are why FDI in air transport is still so strictly controlled in air transport and how it could be regulated in the future. FDI in basic telecommunications has experienced the same development as international air transport. As in …  Lire la suite

Completion guarantees are well known in the entertainment industry as a form of guarantee issued to motion picture and television producers to satisfy the requirements of their financiers. This thesis reviews and analyzes some of the business and legal issues that arise in connection with completion guarantees, as the completion guarantor assumes an increasingly pivotal role in entertainment financing transactions. The author discusses the current nature of North American entertainment financing and provides a brief history of completion guarantees. An analysis of the major forms of documentation involved in completion guarantee transactions follows. The obligations undertaken by the completion guarantor …  Lire la suite

Controversy exists regarding the integrity of the nervous system in the young infant with a congenital heart defect who must undergo corrective or palliative open heart surgery. Neurodevelopmental sequelae have been largely attributed to surgical events and procedures without careful evaluation of preoperative neurologic status. Very few studies have explored whether pre-existing neurologic abnormalities are evident prior to surgery. The objective of this study was to determine if newborns with congenital heart defects demonstrate abnormalities in neurobehavioral status prior to surgery, as measured by neurologic and neurobehavioral performance as well as somatosensory evoked potentials. The results indicated that neurobehavioral abnormalities …  Lire la suite

In this work, an artificial standard material was developed and used to examine the robustness of various different stereological correction procedures. The four correction procedures that were examined were: large-sections correction, Hill's fast approximation, Barbery's correction and PARGEN correction. There were three steps to this work: (1) refinement of the standard material--certain modifications were made to make the standard material (developed as an M.Eng. project) more versatile and easier to use. (2) sectioning and correction of computer-generated spheres--different liberation distributions of single-capped spheres were computer-generated and sectioned. The four correction procedures were used to correct the stereological bias in the …  Lire la suite

Emulsification behaviour caused by gas bubbles rising through a slag/metal interface was studied in both a thin-slice model and a three-dimensional model using low temperature oil/aqueous and oil/mercury analogues. A generalized model characterizing the transitional volume of droplets entrained in the upper phase in the emulsification process was developed. The transient volume of "metal" entrained, $ rm V sb{d}(t),$ following the start of bubbling followed the relation $ rm V sb{d}(t)=V sb{ propto}(1-e sp{-t/ tau}).$ Based on this model, the birth rate and mean residence time of droplets dispersed by rising bubbles could be quantified. Dimensional analysis was used to …  Lire la suite

In vitro selection for multidrug resistance (MDR) and retroactive clinical studies have established an important role for both P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and the Multidrug Resistance-associated Protein (MRP) in conferring pleiotropic resistance to several structurally dissimilar hydrophobic drugs. Both P-gp and MRP are ABC transporters which when overexpressed in tumour cells are capable of enhancing drug efflux, resulting in a drug accumulation deficit. Paradoxically, acquisition of the MDR phenotype frequently results in newfound hypersensitivity to a different group of drugs. This thesis investigates the collateral sensitivity of the P-gp-bearing CHO cell line CH$ sp{ rm R}$ C5 to the calcium channel blocker, …  Lire la suite

This thesis investigates the theory and practice of song criticism from a primarily literary perspective. It maintains that much contemporary song criticism deals inadequately with the complex relationships between verbal, vocal and musical texts that comprise the three basic elements of the modern song. To justify this claim, and to grasp how the current situation might have arisen, the thesis delves into the history of song and traces its developments. It concludes that modern and classical song differ in ways that the "serious vs. popular" debate do not address: autonomy of authorship, frame of reference, and proper context for interpretation. …  Lire la suite

This study explored general and special education teacher satisfaction with special education teacher roles in collaborative teams, whose objective was to include children with disabilities, and the evolutionary stage of the teams according to the integrated model of group development. Thirteen out of 21 targeted teams qualified for the sample. The Special Education Teacher-General Education Teacher Interaction Scale assessed general and special education teachers' perceptions of special education teachers' current and ideal roles (Cronbach's alpha internal reliability coefficients were .85 and .81). The Team Evolution Questionnaire measured the collaborative teams' developmental stage (Cronbach's alpha was .82). General education teachers were …  Lire la suite

We present direct numerical simulations of the spatial development of a triad of normal mode perturbations to boundary layers with Falkner-Skan velocity profiles. The perturbations are comprised of a plane wave and a pair of oblique waves inclined at equal and opposite angles to the primary flow direction. The conditions for resonance are satisfied exactly and the phase speeds of the plane wave and the oblique waves are equal. As a result, all modes share a common critical layer, thereby facilitating a strong interaction. These oblique waves initially undergo a parametric type of subharmonic resonance, but the system becomes fully …  Lire la suite

Stromal reticular cells in mouse bone marrow and follicular dendritic cells (FDC) in peripheral lymphoid tissues both interact with B lymphocytes and influence their development at various stages of the B cell lineage. The possibility that BM reticular cells and FDCs may share common surface properties has been examined in mouse bone marrow by in vivo administration of $ sp{125}$I-labelled purified monoclonal antibodies (mAb) raised against mouse FDC, detecting mAb-binding by light microscope (LM) and electron microscope (EM) radioautography. Young mice were injected intravenously with $ sp{125}$I-mAb FDC-M1, FDC-M2, FDC-M3 and then perfused to remove unbound antibody. Quantitative analyses of …  Lire la suite

In the last two decades, China's economic reforms in general, and rural reforms in particular, have had an immense effect upon China's urbanization patterns. A large rural surplus labor force has transformed itself into irresistible migration waves sweeping across most of China's big cities. An essential question is how could Chinese cities avoid going through the same process of trial and error as other Third World cities, or what are the feasible ways to accept and integrate migrants within the existing urban systems. The answer to this question could only be explored to a large degree by examining the current …  Lire la suite

This thesis concentrates on Magnetic Dissipation Force Microscopy---instrumentation, experiments and theory of the origin of magnetic dissipation. A home-built vacuum magnetic force microscope (MFM) was debugged. The electronic noise in the system was reduced to below the thermal cantilever noise and the microscope now operates at its theoretical maximum (thermally limited) sensitivity. Then, a new technique, magnetic dissipation imaging, was developed. It allows the imaging of variations of 10-17 W in dissipation with sub-100 nm resolution. A normal MFM image and a magnetic dissipation image can be acquired simultaneously on the same area of a sample. A theory was developed …  Lire la suite

Free-space optical interconnects (FSOIs) represent a potential solution for solving the bottleneck associated with the increasing demands for high bandwidth interconnections in modern communication services and advanced computing systems. Such interconnects utilize two-dimensional smart pixel arrays to take advantage of the additional degree of freedom gained in FSOIs. As a result, thousands of parallel optical channels may be available. This thesis studies the design issues of board-to-board free-space optical interconnections. The impacts of device technology, the data-link topology of multiple-board interconnections, and the imaging mapping between stages are explored. Four types of free-space optical interconnects have been examined in terms …  Lire la suite

This thesis has explored the implementation of the primary health care strategy in Ghana, focusing on the Maternal Child Health program, one of main components of the strategy and the program that seems to have been most widely implemented in the country. The analysis has been concerned primarily with identifying the obstacles to the implementation of this strategy in rural areas of the country, where levels of utilization and participation have been found to be lower than what was hoped for by the government. It does this by using data collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation in three rural …  Lire la suite

The purpose of this research is to use a mathematical model to study the removal of calcium in the form of gypsum from zinc sulphate solution by cooling from 80ºC to 30ºC in a batch crystallizer. Factors such as cooling-rates, initial solution composition, and seed amount are analyzed. Using the simulation module developed, it is found that the removal of calcium can be improved by operating at a high temperature, which speeds up both the growth and nucleation kinetics, and produces a higher supersaturation by lowering the equilibrium molality of calcium ion in solution. Also, the addition of seed can …  Lire la suite

This thesis proposes to deal with the Iraqi Nationalist movement from its emergence after the First World War to the establishment of an independent Iraq in 1932. During these years the British controlled Iraq under a mandate granted by the League of Nations. This, in spite of the simultaneous creation of an Iraqi monarchy. Neither the new monarch nor the people were content with the political arrangement, based as it was on foreign control, but the drive for independence emanated from a small group of political activists. Both major religious sects of Islam, Sunni and Shi'a, played a leading role …  Lire la suite

Invasion and metastasis largely determine the clinical course of cancer. A better understanding of the mechanisms required for metastases formation in secondary sites will lead to the development of new and more successful treatment strategies. The present work describes our results with a murine Lewis lung carcinoma model which consists of two cell lines, H-59 and M-27, with different patterns of metastasis in vivo. Using this model, a positive correlation was found between the expression of insulin-like growth factor I receptor (IGF-IR) and the ability of the tumor cells to metastasize to the liver. The highly invasive, highly metastatic, liver …  Lire la suite

This thesis explores the scope of physicians' legal and ethical duties of disclosure in an era marred by decreasing available medical resources. Using three hypothetical case scenarios, it examines the scope of physicians' obligations to disclose information about medical interventions that patients might wish to consider but that are not available in their immediate community. The legal analyses focus on Canadian and Quebec law. Discussion of the ethical considerations centres on the concept of 'benefit' and issues of 'communication' and 'trust' in the physician-patient relationship. It integrates, as well, empirical knowledge about patients' desire for information and participation in decision-making. …  Lire la suite

This thesis deals primarily with the air carrier's liability in the case of passenger death or bodily injury under Warsaw System. It analyzes the problems of today and tries to offer solutions for the present crisis of the Warsaw System for the future. The first chapter concentrates on an brief introduction of the development of the Warsaw System from the original Warsaw Convention, to the 1996 ICAO new draft instrument. The chapter gives the trend of development and explains the different characteristics of each Warsaw instrument. The second chapter analyses the shortcomings of the original Warsaw Convention by comparing the …  Lire la suite

The lack of a relevant and responsive health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measure for lung transplantation has prevented the estimation of HRQoL changes during the prolonged wait for donors and post-operatively in the long-term. The objective of this thesis study was to streamline 58 existing patient-generated items into a short and reliable lung transplant module for use with the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-Item Health Status Survey (SF-36) which would improve the measurement of change. Seventy-six patients responded to both SF-36 and 58-item inventory at intervals pre- and post-operatively. Data were used to reduce the inventory. Concurrent clinical data …  Lire la suite

One application of the voltage-source, matrix converter is as an asynchronous link, joining two AC power systems with different frequencies (50Hz/60Hz), or at the same frequency (60Hz/60Hz) but at different phase angles. This thesis work shows that for this kind of link, there exists an automatic closed-loop feedback strategy to control the real and reactive powers quickly and independently. In this thesis, the new matrix converter topology, based on the three-phase voltage-source converters, has been used. The thesis mixes the dyadic matrix structure the a-b-c to d-q-o transformation and feedback control theory together to get the results. Digital simulations are …  Lire la suite

This study focuses on analyzing the interaction between Portland type I cement and motor oil, and its influence on the hydration of the cement. The Portland type I cement was tested by using a Viscosity meter, a Zeta potential meter and by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The tested samples containing increasing concentration of motor oil were subjected to Viscosity, Zeta potential and Infrared spectroscopy (IR) tests. Ultimate compressive strength (UCS) and Chemical oxygen demand (COD) tests, which signify the leachability of the oil from the cement, are also included. The results show that oil (1) retards hydration, (2) reduces …  Lire la suite

B lymphopoiesis in mouse bone marrow (BM) represents a delicate balance between B cell production and loss. The present study has aimed to examine the differentiation and selection of B lineage cells during their development in BM. A comparison has been made between two major B cell differentiation models, one based on BM cell fractions sorted by immunofluorescence labeling and flow cytometry of cell surface markers and the other using fluorescence microscopy of the B lineage differentiation markers, TdT and mu heavy chains of IgM. The results have revealed a heterogeneity of B cell differentiation stages within each sorted BM …  Lire la suite

A simulator is developed to model and design high strain shape memory alloy (SMA) tension actuators. The simulator may be used to predict characteristics of a given actuator, or to design its geometry under specifications such as force, speed, stroke and size. The accuracy of the model is verified experimentally in reference to an existing NiTi shape memory alloy prototype actuator. Having developed some confidence in the model, the performance of the proposed actuation mechanism is compared to other existing technologies. In particular, the force-displacement and speed characteristics of a micro-solenoid electro-magnetic actuator and a muscle-size pneumatic actuator are compared …  Lire la suite

In 1972, Italo Calvino published Le citta invisibili, a text which marked a radical departure from "traditional" narrative methods. This study is an analysis of the literary techniques used in the text. It posits Calvino's critical and theoretical evolution as the source of the specific stylistic choices that determine the originality of the work.  Lire la suite

Although the evolution of a unified Europe has been unsteady, the immigration policies of member states have nonetheless become increasingly harmonized in recent years. This harmonization has not been without its controversies, however, and is characterized by two inter-linked political disputes that have shaped the progress achieved thus far. The first dispute area is the exclusion of Europe's legally-resident third country nationals (TCNs) from the privileges of intra-EU free movement, contrary to the inclusionist arguments of the European Commission and Parliament. The second dispute area is the political struggle between advocates of intergovernmental decision-making structures, which are not subject to …  Lire la suite

Strategic planning is not only necessary in today's global economy where markets are becoming more susceptible to international competition, it is vital. The foresight of market reactions can lead to a competitive advantage. Market share losses can be minimized (and market share gains maximized) with the knowledge obtained from primary marketing research involving a stated preference study to examine consumer behaviour. Before launching a new product or providing a service, discrete choice analysis can empower strategic planners, managers and marketers with a tool which aids in optimizing products and services for a potential market with the end of maximizing sales …  Lire la suite

While much has been written on the relationship between Islamic law and customary law in Muslim countries, for the most part, the literature reflects the conflict approach. To date, this methodological framework persists as most Western Islamicists continue to view the encounter between the two legal systems as conflict ridden. This thesis is an attempt to re-evaluate this entrenched paradigm. By utilising the principles of Islamic legal methodology (usul al-fiqh) in conjunction with legal and socio-political approaches, this study seeks to shed new analytical light on the encounter of Islamic law with adat law (customary law) in Indonesia. The two …  Lire la suite

We have used a new type of torque magnetometer: a piezoresistive cantilever. It detects the force and torque applied to the end of the cantilever beam by changes in its resistance. We report the first use of this device at temperatures below 1 K. We observed a hysteretic behavior of the resistance at low magnetic field (less than 10 mT) in that temperature range. At higher field it has a smoothly varying magnetoresistance which permitted us to measure the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) effect in two superconductors: $ kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$ sb2$Cu(NCS)$ sb2$ and Sr$ sb2$RuO$ sb4.$ These measurements demonstrated that a …  Lire la suite

Low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-2, LRP-2 (gp330/megalin) is a cell surface receptor involved in the internalization of apolipoprotein J (apoJ/clusterin). Apo J is found in the luminal fluids of the testis and epididymis, as well as on the plasma membrane of the sperm. It has already been suggested that an apo J/LRP-2 interaction may be involved in sperm maturation whereby apo J redistributes cholesterol on the sperm membrane which is necessary for the capacitation and acrosomal reaction in the oviduct. This research examined the postnatal developmental localization of LRP-2 in the efferent ducts and in the epididymis as well as …  Lire la suite

Formulation studies of value-added seafood nuggets were done using appropriate mixtures of surimi, kamaboko, broken shrimp, and shrimp broth made from shrimp processing waste. A total of 19 formulations were prepared and, on the basis of sensory analysis, two formulations (comprising of 75% surimi: 25% shrimp, and 100% surimi containing shrimp broth) were used throughout this study. Initial storage trials of both raw and cooked battered and breaded value-added nuggets in air and under various modified atmospheres (MAP) showed that a microbiological shelf-life of 28 d was possible for cooked nuggets at 4 and 12$ sp circ$C packaged under various …  Lire la suite

Taylor, Charles (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The church and monastery of Brou, Bourg-en-Bresse were built under the attentive patronage of Margaret of Austria (1480--1530), Duchess of Savoy, Regent of the Netherlands and daughter of Maximilian I and Mary of Burgundy. Brou was intended to symbolically and economically secure the region for the Habsburgs as well as memorialize the glory of its patron. Located in Savoy, a strategic territory in the battle for Italy between the Habsburg Empire and France, Brou's secular and religious references, chosen by the patron herself, reflect her and her family's political needs. This paper explores Margaret of Austria's role as patron and …  Lire la suite

Avis, David (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Published in 1780, Nicolas Le Camus de Mezieres' The Genius of Architecture; or, The Analogy of Tkat Art with Our Sensations is firmly ensconced in the traditions of western architectural theories, dating back to Vitruvius' The Ten Books on Architecture . Continuing the traditional relationship to the theatre as well as to the harmonic proportions of the orders although recast in terms of the century in which he wrote, Le Camus uses the paradigm of the theatre as the space of reception for his architecture. Definitively establishing the conventions and taste of the theatre in eighteenth century France, Denis Diderot's …  Lire la suite

The objective of this study was to determine the career pattern and profile of Canadian university CEOs. As well, it was anticipated that a career pattern model and profile for future research would be developed. A survey design was employed. Sixty-one of 83 CEOs provided usable data. A 22 item questionnaire was developed to elicit data concerning their career patterns and profiles. Data were converted into 31 items for statistical analysis. It was concluded that CEOs' careers followed either an academic or administrative pattern. The typical CEO began their career as an educator, and continually moved toward administrative positions, typically …  Lire la suite

This dissertation explores the connections between image-making practices, discourses of nationalism, Quebecois cinema and the possibility of the cinema functioning as an alternative public sphere. The thesis draws upon sociological theories of nationalism, political theory, film theory, critical theory and cultural critique in order to reconsider the potential political power of the cinematic image. After surveying contrasting theories of nationalism, the thesis addresses itself to Jurgen Habermas' concept of the public sphere and the revisions of this concept undertaken by contemporary social and political theorists. The use-value of the concept of the public sphere in relation to film theory is …  Lire la suite

Gu, Minggao (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Part 1. We show that the standard notions of tautology and subsumption can be naturally generalized, (so that refutation completeness is preserved with respect to the associated deletion), within the context of (a specified set of) modified deduction rules for binary clausal resolution-refutation which build-in the reflexivity, symmetry, transitivity and predicate substitutivity axioms for equality. To this end, first a resolution system, PC<, in which equality has no special status, is introduced and its refutation completeness under subsumption and tautology deletion shown. The generalized notions of subsumption and tautology, Sigma0-subsumption and Sigma 0-tautology, respectively, are then formulated and analyzed. EPC …  Lire la suite

Alternative splicing from a single gene or transcription from distinct genes are the two most important genetic mechanisms used to generate protein isoforms. This study concerns the ascidian Ciona intestinalis and the genetic mechanism used in this primitive chordate organism to produce differentially expressed isoforms of the muscle protein troponin I (TnI). Through cDNA cloning and reverse-transcription PCR approaches, the mRNA sequences encoding two distinct Ciona ThI isoforms were determined. These mRNAs were found to be tissue-specifically expressed; one in the heart and the other in body-wall muscle. They encode long (229-residue) and short (182-residue) TnI protein isoforms homologous to …  Lire la suite

Two full-scale reinforced concrete bridge pier caps were constructed and tested to investigate the influence of concrete strength on their behaviour. The amount of uniformly distributed reinforcement required for crack control at service load levels was also varied in order to investigate the suitability of current design approaches for these disturbed regions. In addition, strut-and-tie models, refined strut-and-tie models and non-linear finite element analyses are used to predict the complete behaviour of the test specimens.  Lire la suite

By examining the process of production and reception of the works of Walter Pater and Oscar Wilde, this thesis explores the ways in which both conceptions of audience and actual audiences shaped these works. As proponents of "aestheticism," a philosophy which required the development of a highly specialised mode of perception and critical awareness, Pater and Wilde wrote with a fairly select audience in mind. Confronted, however, with actual readers who did not always meet the "aesthetic" criteria (even if they were supporters), they were forced to rethink their conceptions of audience. Pater's and Wilde's developing understandings of audience can …  Lire la suite

The Golden Square Mile is well known as the historic domain of Montreal's anglophone elite. Its idyllic setting on the mountainside, overlooking the city and the St Lawrence River, was a natural magnet for wealthy nineteenth-century families, just as it had been in the days of fur traders such as James McGill. As an urban environment, however, the Golden Square Mile was far more complicated than the sum of its mansions. Despite a long history of habitation by gentlemen farmers, the "GSM" took shape only as of mid-century, accompanying the rise of capitalist institutions and the middle classes. Furthermore, it …  Lire la suite

An extensive literature survey concerning C$ sb1$ and C$ sb2$ chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon (CAH) biodegradation is presented and membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology is exercised towards PCE bioremediation. A 108-day run was conducted utilizing a pilot-scale 20 L MBR comprising a methanol-fed mixed-methanogenic culture operating at a constant 1-day HRT and 36-day SRT. The MBR exhibited long-term (four months) PCE degradation activity at biomass concentrations of 0.61 to 1.45 g protein/L and contaminant loadings of 100 to 400 $ mu$mol PCE/L. The bacteria showed quick acclimation and improved PCE degradation with long-term PCE exposure. The maximum specific TCE formation rates were …  Lire la suite

Objectives. To estimate children's exposure to traffic, and to determine the role of exposure in pedestrian injuries. Methods. A questionnaire was distributed to 4,080 children in grades 1 and 4 in a stratified, random sample of 43 schools in Montreal. Results. The mean number of streets crossed was similar by sex and increased with age. Children who attended schools in neighbourhoods ranked as disadvantaged crossed, on average, 50% more streets than those attending non-disadvantaged schools. Similar trends emerged in other SES variables. When analyzed by police district, injury rates and exposure were positively correlated (r$ sp2$ = 0.53). Conclusion. Differences …  Lire la suite

Warm season grasses are increasingly being cultivated in North America for summer forage, soil conservation, and biomass production. In more northern environments, temperature and length of growing season have an overriding effect on the productivity of warm season grasses. There is limited information on the adaptability and production potential of warm season grasses in these short season areas. A study was conducted in south-western Quebec from 1993 to 1996 to evaluate the productivity of five species of warm season grasses. Phenological development, canopy leaf area development and architecture, radiation-use efficiency (RUE), yield and chemical composition were determined. In terms of …  Lire la suite

In this thesis, the author investigates the link between the process of economic and political integration within the European Union and the phenomenon of nationalist assertion. By examining the cases of Flanders and Scotland, it is argued that increased nationalism is a normal and predictable outcome of the process of integration in general, and of the EU more specifically. By analysing four factors--economic incorporation, system-wide policies, systems of transfer payments, and political isolation--the author finds two trends within the nationalist movements. The first is that the nationalist groups seek to acquire several of the powers currently held by the states …  Lire la suite

Mucciardi, F. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite