McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1998

This thesis is a study on Fabian attitudes towards the struggle for independent labour representation during the last two decades of the nineteenth century. The Fabian Society has often claimed it greatly influenced the struggle to establish a working-class political party prior to the inauguration of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) in 1900. Yet, many of the Fabians' contemporaries disagreed. This thesis challenges any assertion that the Fabian Society greatly influenced the LRC. Through a study of the Fabian Society's early history, beliefs and attitudes it is clear that the Fabians were more likely to be very negative towards any …  Lire la suite

This work analyzes the methods the Mamluk Sultanate (1250--1517) used to train and educate its military and religious elite. Three separate classes of people are examined: the Mamluks, the religious elite (' ulama') and finally the children of the Mamluks (awlad al-nas). It is demonstrated that in order for the Mamluk Sultanate to function properly, both military and religious scholarship were needed. During the Mamluk period, these methods of training and education were not applied in a uniform manner.  Lire la suite

The main objective of this thesis is to present a quantitative method for modeling data collected from different studies on a same research topic. This quantitative method is called meta-analysis. The first step of a meta-analysis is the literature search, conducted using computerized and manual search strategies to identify relevant studies. The second step is the data abstraction from different relevant papers. In general, at least two independent raters systematically abstract the information, and interrater reliability check is performed. The next step is the quantitative analysis of the abstracted data. For this purpose, it is possible to use either fixed …  Lire la suite

Using a sociocultural theoretical framework, this study describes the learning experience of three re-entry adult women during their first year of academic study in a university. To situate the learning historically and culturally, cultural factors of both the students and the learning context are considered as well as interactions between the two over time. Information about the students' perspective of their experience was obtained through interviews conducted throughout the year and some textual responses are examined. The women's orientations toward learning are described using three theoretical constructs: transformative or reproductive approaches to learning, connected or separate modes of learning, and …  Lire la suite

Adenoviruses have proven to be particularly helpful in unraveling the intricacies of cell growth regulation and apoptosis, greatly increasing our understanding of oncogenesis. At the onset of this work, adenoviruses were thought to induce apoptosis via a p53-dependent cell death pathway exclusively, and we set out to develop an assay system to study the ability of viral proteins to inhibit p53-induced apoptosis. We started using the p53-null human Saos-2 osteogenic carcinoma cells when we found that p53 expression led to rapid cell death. The morphology of these cells by electron microscopy confirmed that death was by apoptosis and this death …  Lire la suite

Montgomery, David (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The detection of visual stimuli involves neurons which are selectively responsive to components of a visual scene. In the early stages of visual processing, it is commonly accepted that neurons respond to the changes in luminance associated with objects and object boundaries. However, recent experiments have demonstrated that some neurons can also respond to features which are not defined by luminance variations. These features are termed "second-order" because they require more complex processing, and neurons which respond to second-order features are necessarily nonlinear. In this thesis, I undertook a three dimensional physiological characterization (i.e. tuning of orientation, spatial frequency and …  Lire la suite

Nineteen bacteria were tested for growth on paraffin wax as the sole source of carbon. Paraffin wax is a solid mixture of hydrocarbons including n-alkanes ranging from C18H38 to C37H 76. Of the nineteen bacteria tested, four bacteria (Arthrobacter paraffineus ATCC 19558, Mycobacterium OFS, Pseudomonas fluorescens Texaco and Rhodococcus IS01) grew well on paraffin wax. However, only one, Rhodococcus IS01, was found to rapidly and completely degrade a mixture of paraffin wax liquefied with hexadecane using the Self-Cycling Fermentation (SCF) technology. This strain was able to degrade n-alkanes ranging from dodecane to heptatriacontane as well as highly branched hydrocarbons such …  Lire la suite

Williams-Jones, A. E. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Almazan, Guillermina (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The Canadian Penning trap Mass Spectrometer (CPTMS) was reassembled and commissioned at Argonne National Laboratory. It consists of three systems: a laser desorption ion source, used for stable isotope production; a radio-frequency quadrupole ion trap (Paul trap); and a Penning trap, which sits inside a homogeneous 6 Tesla magnetic field. The CPTMS was tested using gold ions: these were accelerated toward the Paul trap, where they were accumulated and cooled down. They were then sent to the Penning trap, in which ions undergo circular motion. These motions were resonantly excited using an RF dipole electric field, and the resonant frequency …  Lire la suite

The aim of this project was to study the binding of a series of truncated forms of the propeptide to rat cathepsin B. This was done previously by using enzyme inhibition assays (Chen et al, 1996), in which binding is detectable only for those peptides that bind to the catalytic site, and hence compete with the substrate for that site. For this reason, Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) was utilised since heat detection provides a more direct measurement of binding, irrespective of its location on the enzyme. However, several difficulties were encountered which rendered this approach less feasible. Nevertheless, in the …  Lire la suite

A lacZ transcriptional fusion library was constructed without the cloned gene of interest (i.e. nlp). To do this, the nlp gene was interrupted using luxAB and a tetracycline resistance gene in the Deltalac strain E. coli 40. This strain (LF20300) was subsequently transformed with an expression vector possessing the ara PBAD promoter and a chloramphenicol resistance marker (pBAD18Cm). The plasmid-containing strain was then lysogenized with a Mu d1 phage containing the lacZYA reporter gene and an ampicillin resistance marker. The resulting lysogens were selected on TCMG plates containing 0.2% glucose, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and ampicillin. These lysogens were then mastered onto …  Lire la suite

The formulation of the Kompilasi Hukum Islam di Indonesia (KHI), the standard reference on family law---marriage, inheritance and waqf---is the most recent legal milestone throughout the history of Islamic legal development in Indonesia. The change of social perceptions on family law and the practice of living adat or customary law has been the major factor in the compilation of the KHI. The social and adat elements in the KHI are unmistakable and allowed by the concepts of `urf (usage), maṣlaḥah (public interest), sadd al-dhara'i` (blocking the means) and istiḥsan (juristic preference) in Islamic law. The KHI, in turn, is to …  Lire la suite

Stroud, Sarah (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) are ubiquitous molecules whose actions have been implicated in several airway and vascular pathologies. NO is a free radical produced by the action of inducible and constitutive nitric oxide syntheses (NOS II and NOS III, respectively). NO possesses a wide range of actions including cellular damage which is mediated in part by peroxynitrite (ONOO-), an oxidant formed by the rapid reaction of NO with superoxide. ET-1 is a vasoconstrictor with well known mitogenic properties. In view of the physiologic properties of NO and ET-1, as well as the implication of these molecules in several …  Lire la suite

This qualitative study examines the influence of culture on the teaching and learning process in an eastern Canadian college nursing program. The study reveals incongruency between the ideals of multiculturalism and teaching and learning processes. While teachers perceive they have the requisite skills to fulfill the content objectives using various pedagogical methods set out by the curriculum, they are not always able to promote successful achievement of these objectives in a multicultural student population. Moreover, students experience special learning difficulties in their interactions with teachers when the learning environment is unfamiliar to them and their own cultural identity and life …  Lire la suite

Soil phosphate is essential for the development and maturity of crops. Plants absorb phosphate from the soil solution which is continuously replenished by fertilizer application and/or desorption from the soil solid phase. Anion exchange membranes (AEMs), act in a similar way to plant roots, adsorbing P from soil solution. Desorption of available P was studied in 1997 on two Gleysolic soils rich in P, a Ste. Rosalie clay soil and a Duravin sandy loam soil, using fluoride-saturated AEMs let in soil suspension for various contact periods. Determination of available P using these AEMs was compared to P extraction using the …  Lire la suite

Exodus 34:29--35 contains an ambiguous Hebrew phrase that describes the peculiar condition of Moses' face after his encounter with God on Mt. Sinai. The iconographic tradition of Moses in religious art includes many depictions of him as "horned," yet the early exegetes described his condition as some kind of radiance, Divine glory, or as a metaphor for strength. How, then, is this iconography of horns based on the biblical text or early biblical exegesis? The primary sources evaluated for this study encompass more than two thousand years of biblical interpretation, but the subject of this thesis comprises exegetical material from …  Lire la suite

Coastal eutrophication, defined as an increase in algal biomass (as chlorophyll (Chl)) is of increasing international concern. Although coastal eutrophication will likely increase as coastal populations grow, few models exist to support its management. Lake eutrophication has also long been recognized as an important environmental concern. However, effective lake eutrophication management exists, supported by regression and mass-balance models. Traditionally, these "Vollenweider" models link land-use to Chl via total phosphorus (TP), the nutrient considered to be limiting Chl. However, based on a data set of 63 lakes, Chl was more accurately predicted by models based on land-use than by those based …  Lire la suite

A two year study was conducted on the Macdonald Campus Farm on a 2.4 ha site of shallow St. Amble loamy sand cropped to corn (Zea mays L.). Three types of tillage practice (conventional tillage, reduced tillage, and no-till) were combined with 2 residue levels (with and without) in a randomized complete block design. The effect of these practices on NO 3--N distribution at 0--50 cm in the soil profile, and on plant N uptake were studied. Organic matter, pH, bulk density, and soil moisture contents were also monitored. Residues were found to have a greater influence on soil NO3--N …  Lire la suite

Previous studies have shown that the mitochondrial orf224/ atp6 gene region is correlated with the Polima (pol) cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) of Brassica napus, and that the effects of nuclear fertility restoration on orf224/ atp6 transcripts co-segregate with the pol restorer gene Rfp in genetic crosses. Results presented in this thesis indicate that the pol CMS restorer gene Rfp acts in an organ-specific manner to promote the processing of primary, dicistronic orf224/atp6 transcripts into new restorer-specific, monocistronic transcripts. The single 1.1 kb atp6 transcript of nap cytoplasm and some orfB transcripts of nap and pol cytoplasm B. napus mitochondria are …  Lire la suite

Bhatt, Vikram (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Recently, an important role has been attributed to endothelin-1 (ET-1), a potent vasoconstrictor and a mitogenic factor. The prostate and the vascular endothelium, including that of the penis, are known to produce ET-1. Furthermore, it has been shown that there are two receptor subtypes in the penis, ETa and ETb. Radiation treatment is known to cause an increase in ET-1 and may be a fundamental cause of radiation-associated impotence (RAI). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of ET-1 in RAI. In the first part of our study, rats were divided into groups according to a …  Lire la suite

Hallaq, Wael B. (Advisor)  Lire la suite

According to the classic neuron doctrine, action potentials (APs) are generated at the axon hillock and then travel orthodromically to the axon terminals. However, APs can also be generated from sites remote from the axon hillock, that is, at ectopic sites located in axons or dendrites. Ectopic action potentials (EAPs) generated at axon terminals have been shown to travel antidromically to the soma where they can lower the excitability threshold for somatic AP generation. EAP's are thought to be important in synaptic plasticity and in neuronal network synchronization, both in physiological as well as pathological conditions. In this study, we …  Lire la suite

The study of promotion or executive succession has been of interest to educators since the beginning of schools. Who should be a school's principal? The purpose of this study was twofold. First to investigate executive succession within large, urban Canadian schools boards, and second, to use a dramatic work---a play---to represent the major findings. Theatre is used to present society and its workings, it is a method of data representation that permits human emotion, care, conflict and tension to become palpable, to provoke an audience. The two purposes of this study merged to provide insight unto the "reality" of school …  Lire la suite

A mesoscale model with a horizontal resolution of 20 km was used to perform a simulation of the rapidly deepening continental cyclone of 19--21 July 1996 that produced heavy precipitation and severe flooding in the Saguenay region of Quebec, Canada. Sensitivity experiments were conducted and diagnostics performed to investigate the interactions and relative importance of the forcing mechanisms that led to the explosive cyclogenesis and heavy precipitation. It is found that condensational heating is integral for the establishment of a phase lock between the surface cyclone and a strong, upper-level short wave trough which steers the cyclone. A weaker trough …  Lire la suite

This thesis discusses the measurement of the dE/ dx resolution of the BaBar drift chamber. The study was performed on the data obtained with a small scale prototype drift chamber (built at LAPP, Annecy, France) during test beam runs at CERN (PS) and Zurich (PSI). Drift chamber simulations were performed in order to study the expected performance. Good tracking, necessary in the analysis of the PS runs but unnecessary in the PSI runs, was obtained by performing a chi2 minimization of the space residuals, yielding a time to distance function. An average tracking resolution of ≈350mum was achieved. The resolution …  Lire la suite

This thesis begins with the examination of the five multilateral space law treaties from perspectives of the developing countries. Next, the genesis and scope of international cooperation in space activities, in relation to the expectations of the developing countries is explored. In the following two chapters the content of the principle of the common heritage of mankind in space law as well as the transfer of space technology to the developing countries is analyzed in the context of the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, as amended in 1994. The legal regulation of remote sensing by satellite …  Lire la suite

This thesis analyses the architecture of the Royal Victoria College (Bruce Price, 1896--1899), a purpose-built women's residential college of McGill University, Montreal, and its first extension (Percy Nobbs, 1930--193 1), as material evidence of the rhetorical construction and negotiation of gender. A contextual analysis of the original RVC reveals the gender significance of the building's relationship to its affiliate institution (McGill), to an urban geography (Phillips Square), and to a commercial typology (the railway hotel), while a spatial analysis examines the significance of its women occupants as 'architects', and of changes to the building over time. The thesis concludes that …  Lire la suite

Toru Takemitsu (1930--96) composed several musical works which adopt as their titles quotations from James Joyce' s final and most revolutionary novel, Finnegans Wake. In this thesis I focus on one of these compositions, Far Calls. Coming, Far! (1981) for solo violin and orchestra. I explain the ways in which Takemitsu and Joyce possess similar philosophies and aesthetics, and examine their mutual interest in the phenomena of dreams. The Wake explores one night of a family's unconscious sleep activity and is heavily influenced by Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams. I argue that Takemitsu composes Far Calls. Coming, Far! as a …  Lire la suite

In this thesis, the effects of an active analog of cyclophosphamide (4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide, 4OOH-CPA), an alkylating agent and teratogen, on mouse limb development, cell death and the role of the p53 gene in this process were studied. A mouse limb bud culture system was used for this purpose. Limbs developed normally in this system and showed physiological apoptosis in a spatio-temporal-controlled manner. Drug treatment caused limb reduction malformations, increased the amount of apoptosis and triggered its occurrence prematurely, primarily in areas with physiological apoptosis. This indicated that drug-treatment might have engaged the already available program of apoptosis in the developing limb, …  Lire la suite

The efficient syntheses of substituted oxopiperazines from naturally occurring amino acids have been achieved. These may serve as conformationally constrained peptide mimics. In the first approach, N-prenylated amino acids were condensed with acid fluorides to give dipeptide analogues which upon ozonolysis, reductive work-up and hydrogenation gave cyclic dipeptides. A cyclized aspartame analogue 77 was prepared using this methodology.* The second approach used a sequence opposite to the first approach and therefore provided oxopiperazines 92 and 93 substituted with a hydroxyl group at the C-6 position. This group may serve as a handle to further functionalize the oxopiperazine ring.* The third …  Lire la suite

Following fertilization, the embryo undergoes a sequence of precisely timed cleavage cycles to produce a blastocyst. The timing of these cycles likely depends in part on appropriate levels of gene activity. I have investigated whether high mobility group (HMG) proteins 14 and 17, which are associated with chromatin containing transcribed genes, are expressed in mouse embryos and are required to maintain normal early developmental timing. As assayed using RT-PCR, mRNAs encoding both HMG-14 and HMG-17 were present throughout preimplantation development to the blastocyst stage. By immunofluorescence, both proteins were detected in the nuclei of prophase I-arrested oocytes and embryos beginning …  Lire la suite

At present, compared to our scientific knowledge of how natural biosystems function, we have practically no knowledge of how to engineer biosystems, i.e., how to design, build, repair, maintain, operate, and modify them in a rational and knowledgeable manner. Thus, the EcoCyborg research project was established with the basic intent of making a contribution to the science and engineering of biosystems. This thesis covers three important arms of study within the overall framework of the EcoCyborg project. The first area is the development and implementation of a workbench for simulation based on composite models. The workbench was designed to accommodate …  Lire la suite

This dissertation addresses a basic question of nonviolent, state-society interaction in the developing world: under what conditions do nascent civil associations in non-democratic or semi-democratic contexts successfully lobby the state yet maintain their autonomy and avoid cooptation? To address this question, the study compares how the Chambers of Commerce in Kuwait and Jordan have lobbied their respective states. The approach involves a comparison within and between each country, dividing each case into four general time periods so that there is sufficient variation in political, economic, and social conditions. The problem of the study is that despite similar political, economic, and …  Lire la suite

The works of Edwin M. Duval, especially The Design of Rabelais's "Pantagruel" will act as a springboard for our proposition that Theleme is a New Jerusalem. Through textual analysis of biblical texts and those of Rabelais, we intend to bring to light their intertextual relationships as well as that of certain works pertaining to a New Jerusalem which were of importance during the sixteenth century, namely those of Joachim of Flora, Calvin and Torquato Tasso. We will begin by presenting a compilation of what has been established about Theleme to date. Following this, we will present Duval's arguments culminating in …  Lire la suite

This cross-cultural study examines eating disorders, Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia, and compulsive overeating in Japanese and Canadian women. Through qualitative interviews with nine Japanese and nine Canadian women with eating disorders, it was found that factors contributing to the onset of eating disorders were similar in the two groups. Similarities included the value placed upon thinness by society which is widely perpetuated by the media, being told they were fat and made to feel they needed to lose weight, wanting attention for their eating disorder, and a history of sexual abuse. The Canadian women interviewed, revealed that their mothers also had …  Lire la suite

In this study I attempt to provide a critical-exegetic reading of Giovanni Boccaccio's Filocolo: critical, because my point of departure is a problem---the insistent, puzzling repetition, on the part of the various characters, of the same story, the story of Florio and Biancifiore; exegetic, because my purpose is to arrive at a global interpretation of the work. It is my contention that, first, every version of the story appears to be dictated by the purpose of informing the 'ignorant'---namely those unaware of how events truly unfolded---in order to complete a narrative that, from beginning to end "interamente si contenga;" second, …  Lire la suite

An electrochemical permeation cell has been used to test the influence of microstructural characteristics of metal specimens and electrochemical processing parameters on electrochemical hydrogen diffusion. The affect of intercrystalline volume, entry surface roughness, cathodic charging current density and different cold working conditions on hydrogen diffusion through polycrystalline metals was tested. Nanocrystalline specimens of pure nickel and of 80%-Nickel 20%-Iron were tested to determine the affect of intercrystalline volume on hydrogen breakthrough diffusion. Specimens of pure palladium were tested to determine the influence of entry surface roughness, cathodic charging current density, different cold working and texture conditions on hydrogen permeation. A …  Lire la suite

Keyserlingk, E. (Advisor)  Lire la suite

The fibrous sheath (FS) is a cytoskeletal structure that encases the axoneme in the principal piece of the spermatozoon tail. In the rat, it is composed of several proteins of which a 75 kDa polypeptide (FS 75) is the most prominent. The objectives of this study were to clone and sequence this protein and to characterize its transcriptional and translational origins during spermatogenesis. We succeeded in isolating two overlapping cDNAs encoding half of the downstream segment of the FS 75 protein. Both clones were obtained by screening a rat testicular phagemid cDNA library with an anti-FS 75 polyclonal antibody. The …  Lire la suite

The Boltzmann equation for the diffusion of Hawking radiation from microscopic black holes is solved using the test particle method. Formation of a dense cloud of interacting particles analogous to the photosphere of the Sun is confirmed. We find that at least two kinds of photospheres may form: a quark-gluon plasma for black holes of mass MBH ≃ 5 x 1014 g and an electron-positron-photon plasma for MBH ≃ 2 x 1012 g. The QCD photosphere extends from the black hole horizon for a distance of 0.2--4.0 fm for 109 g ≃ MBH ≃5 x 1014 g, at which point …  Lire la suite

GABAB receptors are located pre- and postsynaptically on both glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons within the hippocampal structure. Activation of the presynaptic GABAB receptors decrease or block inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter release and activation of postsynaptic receptors produces a slow hyperpolarization of the neuron. Previous electrophysiological reports in the literature have demonstrated that activation of GABAB receptors, with the agonist baclofen, can have a proconvulsant effect in some models of epilepsy recorded in the adult brain. The purpose of this study was to examine how baclofen influenced 4-aminopyridine (4AP)-induced epileptiform activity in the juvenile rat hippocampus. Our results show that baclofen …  Lire la suite

This investigation examined the relationship between the superstition endorsement and pre-game anxiety among male and female soccer players at various levels of soccer play. The sample consisted of one hundred-and-one elite soccer players at professional, university, and under 15 year levels. A Soccer Behavior, Beliefs, and Preferences Questionnaire, developed by the investigator, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (Martens et al., 1990) were used to assess respectively soccer superstitions and pre-game anxiety. Pearson Correlations, ANOVAs, and t-tests were computed to test the study's hypotheses. A significant relationship was not found between superstition endorsement and pre-game anxiety for the group sampled. …  Lire la suite

This thesis research addresses the challenges involved in the design of WITS, the Welding Intelligent Tutoring System. The project was motivated by the desire of providing a realistic training environment for maintenance workers involved in the repair of grounding fixtures on electrical power station equipment. The thesis elaborates on each of WITS' three subcomponents: the user interface and peripherals, the expert system, and the 3D virtual environment. The research focuses on the creation of a 3D representation of the operator and his tools. This virtual operator is built to have basic interaction capabilities namely touch and grasp and is made …  Lire la suite

The environmental impact of agricultural activities on water quality was studied on two sub-watersheds of the L'Assomption river in Quebec, over a 3 year period. The sub-watersheds studied were the Saint Esprit (26.1 km 2) and Desrochers (17.9 km2). Development of a methodology and associated tools for targeting conservation activities and assessing the potential impacts of conservation practices was one of the study's components. A goal of this research was the development of a tool using NPS modelling capability and GIS tools. The ANSWERS 2000 model and SPANS GIS software were selected for integration. Using the advanced SPANS operation and …  Lire la suite

A validation study was conducted in the Maasai and Batemi communities of Arusha, Tanzania between December 1996 and January 1997. The aim of this study was to compare a participatory nutrition status assessment procedure carried out by community members with an assessment completed by a professional. The study validated women (15--50 years of age) dietary intake assessments and assessed the reliability of anthropometric assessments of preschool (12--71 months) children in the hands of non-professionals. The prevalence of under-nutrition was similar for the two data sets and reliability of anthropometric measurements was found to be good except for the mid-upper-arm circumference …  Lire la suite

The focus of health care reform is to contribute to better patient health and maintain an equitable access to the system while at the same time achieving a more effective and efficient use of increasingly scarce health care dollars. Due to budgetary and other restraints provincial governments are either spending less on health care or are looking to change the delivery and management of the health industry. How the Canadian health care system responds to the challenges depends upon the interpretation of a number of factors. Three basic factors which are linked to any health care delivery system are financing, …  Lire la suite