McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 2004

The melting and crystallization behavior of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is of great scientific and industrial importance. It depends strongly on polymer molecular structural characteristics and processing conditions, and determines polymer application properties. In this work, we study three different types of LLDPE polymers: metallocene-based LLDPEs (m-LLDPEs), Ziegler-Natta-based LLDPEs (ZN-LLDPEs), and m-LLDPE blends. A generalized equation is introduced to clarify conceptual definitions of polymer melting temperatures. It incorporates the effects of comonomer volume, crystal length, folding surface free energy and enthalpy of fusion. It is successful in describing the characteristic melting temperatures of various alpha-alkene-ethylene copolymers. The proposed equation is …  Lire la suite

"...music is an art that exists in point of time." Aaron Copland, What to Listen for in Music Few definitions are adequate to describe music, but a "point of time" is a concept with which people are familiar. When musicians give concerts they try to create these points in a context, which allows the audience to observe each moment by itself. Concert practice has developed to define the edges of musical points, guided by cues such as clapping, pauses, and concert program notes. This masters thesis investigates how to analyze concert recordings of Western music and their program notes to …  Lire la suite

The debate over the quality of work has been on-going for a number of years. Recently, non-standard work has figured predominantly in that debate. Some researchers have argued that the rise of non-standard work is evidence of the declining quality of work since it offers few benefits, little job security and lower incomes. Other research has indicated that it is the effect of job characteristics themselves that determine quality of work, whether in standard or non-standard employment. Other researchers have noted that it is the profile of workers in these jobs that is a good indicator of whether the employment …  Lire la suite

The research examined the relationship between counsellor awareness of client-identified helpful events and session and event level outcome. Furthermore, counselling participants' experiences of the change processes in high and low counsellor awareness were also examined. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze ratings and word responses of clients' and counsellors' perspectives about how therapeutic change came about in helpful therapy events. Results of the quantitative study indicated no association between counsellor awareness and session and event level outcome. Results of the qualitative study indicated that in helpful events that therapists were most aware of, clients described the process as …  Lire la suite

Cyclical neutropenia (CN) is a rare hematological disorder characterized by oscillations in the circulating neutrophil count. The treatment for this disease uses granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) on a daily basis. Cyclical neutropenia has been extensively modelled due to its interesting dynamics. However, there has been no attempt to use these dynamical features in order to improve existing treatments. A computer simulated study proposing three non-standard treatment protocols to achieve good results with smaller G-CSF dosing and/or fewer days of administration is presented. If the results of this modelling are borne out clinically, it will entail considerable financial savings. The …  Lire la suite

Douglas, W. J. M. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

This thesis takes a critical approach to examine recent developments in European asylum and migration policy. Specifically, this research is interested in addressing the emerging paradigm of "migration management" and its impact on the nature of refugee protection and asylum in an integrated Europe. Two approaches are used in this analysis. First, from a functionalist perspective, this work considers how migration management has responded to contemporary realities of international migration. Secondly, from a critical theory perspective, the thesis analyzes how refugee protection becomes subsumed within the broader goals of migration management. This thesis will argue that the paradigm of migration …  Lire la suite

Tissue transglutaminase (TG2) is a widely distributed, protein-cross-linking enzyme that creates high-molecular weight polymers from its substrate proteins. Its substrates in bone are mainly matricellular adhesion proteins: fibronectin (FN), osteopontin (OPN) and bone sialoprotein (BSP), which have been localized to the osteoid and to the pericellular matrix of osteocytes. The aim of this study was to compare in vitro the effects of monomeric versus polymeric FN, OPN and BSP on MC3T3-E1/C4 osteoblast adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. We showed that for each of the three TG2-mediated protein polymers tested, a significant increase in cell adhesion was observed. Also when observed by …  Lire la suite

We present new algorithms for computing local minimizers of the trust-region subproblem (TRS). This problem consists in minimizing a quadratic function subject to a ball constraint. In particular, this problem appears as a subproblem in trust-region methods for constrained and unconstrained optimization. First, by modeling the TRS with a new semidefinite program, different than the standard semidefinite relaxation, we derive an algorithm, similar in structure to the Rendl-Wolkowicz Algorithm, which implicitly solves the semidefinite program by maximizing a single variable concave function over a closed interval. Second, we extend the theory needed for this algorithm and the Rendl-Wolkowicz Algorithm to …  Lire la suite

This thesis investigates Western exhibition practices and the problems that arise when they involve cross-cultural encounters. Two exhibitions of Chinese painting in Paris that were co-planned by French curators and Chinese artists will serve as case studies in this regard. The first exhibition is Exposition de la peinture chinoise held at the Musee du Jeu de Paume in 1933. The second show is Quatre artistes chinoises contemporaines held at the Musee Cernuschi in 1977. Using archival material, I will reconstruct the planning of the exhibitions and reveal diverging French and Chinese agendas. An examination of the press reviews of the …  Lire la suite

Mu is a temperate, transposable coliphage with an unusual mode of replication and maturation. Mu is encapsidated linked to host sequences flanking the dispersed, integrated phage genomes. For encapsidation to occur, phage genomes must be recognized and removed from the chromosome. A putative enzyme recognizes the specific pac sequence within Mu left end. The objective of my research is to characterize the influence of selected E. coli sequences on Mu transduction. In transduction the virion prohead is filled up with an important percentage, if not in totality, of host DNA. Cryptic pac sequences are defined as E.coli K12 genomic sequences …  Lire la suite

The object of this thesis is to describe tissue classification software that was developed specifically for the identification of cerebral white matter lesions found in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) which results in a pathology observable macroscopically by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Lesion volumes are used as a surrogate of disease progression in clinical trials for MS treatment. The availability of accurate, reliable and reproducible measurements is invaluable in the advancement of patient care and research into this disease. This thesis documents a comprehensive approach to achieve such …  Lire la suite

A physical surgical simulator, the McGill Inanimate System for Training and Evaluation of Laparoscopic Skills (MISTELS) is used to examine the acquisition of laparoscopic skills, as well as to determine a summative evaluation of these skills. The cumulative summation method (CUSUM) is used to characterize individual and group learning curves for a MISTELS task. To examine transfer of learning in laparoscopy, novice laparoscopists were randomized to either practice a basic psychomotor task (peg board transfer) or to a no-practice control group. After forty iterations, the novices performed a more complex task (suturing); those who practiced the basic task significantly improved …  Lire la suite

The performance of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is known to be highly sensitive to synchronization errors at the receiver. Inaccurate synchronization can increase channel estimation errors which further degrade OFDM performance. While effective independent synchronization techniques exist, performance gains can be expected by jointly estimating all synchronization errors and channel parameters. The research presented in this thesis aims to improve the performance of synchronization and channel estimation in burst mode OFDM systems by employing the non-linear recursive least squares algorithm (NL-RLS) to perform joint synchronization and channel estimation. This thesis presents two joint synchronization and channel estimation algorithms. The …  Lire la suite

Sirius on Earth is a chamber opera that deals satirically with social and political issues that are pertinent to a Western multicultural urban setting. Angela Murphy wrote the libretto, which is based on an original dramatic scenario conceived of by the composer. This dissertation consists of two parts: the opera in full score and an analysis of the opera. Sirius on Earth is scored for a cast of eight singers and an ensemble of fifteen players. The analysis is related to the overall objectives of the work which include representing and satirizing the musical and cultural diversity inherent in multicultural …  Lire la suite

Awareness of environmental degradation has stimulated inquiry into the relationship between humans and the environment, increased the demand for ecological conservation, and contributed to the idea of "sustainable development". Community based decision-making has emerged as a crucial focus in environmental management and sustainable development research. This dissertation examines community based environmental decision-making in an area where traditional institutions for communal land holding are facing pressures of modernisation. The dissertation examines the potential, limitations and challenges these institutions face, from a community based perspective, if they are to function as effective vehicles for local environmental management and sustainable development. Drawing on …  Lire la suite

This thesis seeks to address corporate governance from both a practical as well as an academic perspective. It searches for solutions to self-interest and agency costs, problems that it is posited are innate to the anthropomorphism of the corporation and to the separation of management and ownership of widely held, publicly traded, corporations. Practically, this dissertation is anchored in experience, garnered from empirical research, based on in depth and general surveys, as well as detailed interviews. It examines the workings of corporations, including their boards of directors, of gatekeepers, of checks and balances and of shareholders and the relative importance …  Lire la suite

The behaviour of dapped ends with high-performance concrete and headed bars, together with the effects of fibres added to the concrete was investigated. Two full-scale dapped end beams with four dapped ends were constructed in this experimental programme. One half of each beam was cast without fibres while the other half was constructed with concrete containing either steel fibres or polypropylene fibres. The beams had a design concrete compressive strength of 60 MPa. Strut-and-tie models were used to predict the capacity of the dapped end beams. Headed bars were used as the horizontal tension ties, and closed stirrups provided the …  Lire la suite

Objective. To evaluate the caries experience of people with Down syndrome (DS) compared to people without DS. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted. The caries experience was assessed by a crude DMFT score and an adjusted DFT score expressed as a percentage of caries-affected teeth to compensate for hypodontia in the DS group. Multiple logistic and linear regressions were used to compare the outcomes of both groups, controlling for all predictors. Results. Of the 44 DS and 84 non-DS subjects, the adjusted DFT score showed non-significant differences between them (p = 0.18). The crude DMFT score displayed borderline significance (p …  Lire la suite

It has recently been demonstrated that a continuum of self-management (SM) for COPD patients provided by a trained health professional significantly reduce the utilisation of health care services (Bourbeau et al Arch Intern Med March 2003). The objective of the present study was to assess in COPD patients who received a self-management program of the beneficial effect of reduce hospitalisation could be maintained at long term. A multicentre, randomised clinical trial was carried out in 191 COPD patients from 7 hospitals. Patients who all had one hospitalisation in the year preceding study enrolment were assigned to a self-management program or …  Lire la suite

This paper will rather seek to uncover and emphasize Cold War imperatives that served as significant guiding factors in shaping the Canadian response to the Suez Crisis. The success of Canadian diplomacy in the 1956 Suez Crisis was in the ability of Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester B. Pearson and his Canadian colleagues to protect Western interests in the context of the Cold War. Suez threatened Anglo-American unity, and the future of the North Atlantic alliance. It also presented the Soviets an opportunity to gain influence in the Middle East. The United Nations Emergency Force ensured that Britain …  Lire la suite

Indigenous peoples around the world have been involved, especially since the 1970s, in nationalist or sovereigntist movements, as well as in struggles for decolonization, self-determination, and recognition of their rights. Maaori of Aotearoa/New Zealand are engaged in just such processes and, particularly since the 1960s and 1970s, as part of the Maaori "cultural renaissance". Since about 70% of Maaori live in urban areas, cities---Auckland in particular---have become important sites of affirmation and struggle. This study, which falls within the field of urban anthropology, is an investigation of what being Maaori today means and how it is experienced, in particular in …  Lire la suite

Indigenous peoples around the world have been involved, especially since the 1970s, in nationalist or sovereigntist movements, as well as in struggles for decolonization, self-determination, and recognition of their rights. Maaori of Aotearoa/New Zealand are engaged in just such processes and, particularly since the 1960s and 1970s, as part of the Maaori "cultural renaissance". Since about 70% of Maaori live in urban areas, cities---Auckland in particular---have become important sites of affirmation and struggle. This study, which falls within the field of urban anthropology, is an investigation of what being Maaori today means and how it is experienced, in particular in …  Lire la suite

Transport of iron-siderophores and vitamin B12 across the outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria requires energy from the proton motive force delivered by the TonB/ExbB/ExbD complex. TonB-dependent OM receptors such as FhuA, FepA, FecA and BtuB possess a Ton box: a conserved motif located proximal to their N-terminus that has been shown to interact with TonB. However, other sites on OM receptors have been proposed to participate in interactions with TonB. To identify novel sites of interactions with TonB, we selected TonB-binding peptides from a random library of peptides displayed on phages. Fifteen peptides displayed sequence similarities to known TonB-dependent …  Lire la suite

Sustainable parasite control in livestock depends on anthelmintic drugs. The nematode Haemonchus contortus, the most important intestinal parasite of sheep and goats has developed resistance to all classes of anthelmintics including moxidectin, the most potent of the macrocyclic lactones. Pyrosequencing was used to screen H. contortus laboratory and field strains for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with resistance in three genes, and determine their involvement in field resistance to macrocyclic lactones. Specific SNPs increased in frequency in ivermectin/moxidectin laboratory selected strains for all three genes. These did not protect a resistant field strain from a field dose of ivermectin and …  Lire la suite

As the hereditary leader of the Safavid Sufi Order, Shah Ismail founded the Safavid dynasty in 1501. This study goes beyond Shah Ismail's historical legacy, however, to examine the pious and literary sources which have shaped a permanent place for him within the Alevi-Bektashi community, an Islamic sectarian minority in Turkey. Although Shah Ismail has received extensive treatment in both historical chronicles and modern historiography, this dissertation locates the development of his cult in the legendary versions of his life story. In this respect, the Turkish "Minstrel Tale" (hikaye) is fundamental to the transformation of Shah Ismail's significance in the …  Lire la suite

Levine, Martin D. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Alkali-aggregate reactivity (AAR) is known to cause detrimental effects in reinforced and prestressed concrete structures. To be able to design for these disruptive deformations and structural distress, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the basic mechanics of reactivity, and its effect on cracking, engineering properties of the deteriorating concrete, and the resulting structural deformations. This research will provide a brief overview of alkali-aggregate reactions in concrete, the causes of the problem and its symptoms in existing concrete structures. The goal of this study is to assess the role of the steel reinforcement on the response of AAR-affected …  Lire la suite

This thesis presents a new approach to recommender systems. Previous recommender systems based on collaborative filtering typically solicit user feedback on domain items as overall ratings which are then recorded as numeric values. This paradigm limits the semantic richness of the user's interaction with the system and the depth to which the system can understand user preferences. We propose a new recommender system, Recommendz, which allows the user to comment not only about the overall quality of the item but also about the quantity and quality of features of the item. This allows the user to justify his or her …  Lire la suite

Dudek, Greg (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The highly conserved p24 family of proteins are abundant components of the early secretory pathway, although their specific function remains unclear. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, deletion of the eight members of this family results in no marked phenotype, whereas in mice, deletion of a single p24 family member, p23, results in embryonic lethality. In addition, in the fly Drosophila melanogaster, two of the nine p24 proteins have been shown to be necessary for dorsoventral patterning of the embryo. Here, I attempt to determine the function of these proteins by finding new genetic interactors of the p24s using a synthetic …  Lire la suite

This thesis examines the ways in which Cree women of Waskaganish, James Bay use and understand the concept of tradition in narratives about their lives and changes in their community. The fieldnotes of anthropologist Regina Flannery, completed in the 1930's, serve to orient this research, and provide a starting point for discussion. As northern communities continue to adapt in the face of social and economic changes, cultural categories such as tradition have concurrently undergone reevaluation. It is argued here that the meanings of tradition have become more complex as Cree women adjust to their changing environment. It is demonstrated that …  Lire la suite

The overall purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a feminist methodology in examining the inter-organizational relationships (IORs) of a partnership for girls' education in Uganda. An in-depth case study was carried out on the Alliance for Community Action on Female Education - Uganda chapter (the Alliance). The Alliance was a multi-sector partnership between international donors, the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES), and Ugandan non-governmental (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs). Using a feminist approach to spatial mapping, interviews, focus groups and collaborative research activities, the study explored the 'lived' inter-organizational experiences of the Ugandan women …  Lire la suite

We investigated the ability of CYP2D6 to catalyze dextromethorphan O-demethylation in acetonitrile, chloroform, cyclohexane, and dichloromethane. Interestingly, in acetonitrile 20% activity was recovered. We next carried in vitro studies on the inhibitory effect of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide on human P450s involved in drug metabolism (CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2D6, CYP2E1 and CYP3A4). At their therapeutic level, nicotinic acid inhibits CYP2D6 (Ki = 19 +/- 4 mM) whereas nicotinamide inhibits CYP2D6 (Ki = 3.8 +/- 0.3 mM), CYP2E1 (Ki = 13 +/- 8 mM) and CYP3A4 (Ki = 13 +/- 3 mM). Finally, we have analyzed the different fractions (flavonoids and terpenoids) …  Lire la suite

Increasing evidence indicates that cholesterol plays a central role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Caveolin is a cholesterol-binding membrane protein involved in cellular cholesterol homeostasis and signalling. The global working hypothesis of the present project was to investigate on a possible role for caveolin in the pathophysiological events underlying AD. More specifically, a first study was conducted to evaluate potential changes in the amount of brain caveolin in autopsy-confirmed AD and age-matched control subjects. Using rodents, the effect of age and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) deficiency on caveolin levels was also examined. In a second study, caveolin levels were …  Lire la suite

Winer, Laura (Co-Supervisor)  Lire la suite

In mineral processing industries, grinding processes can be defined as the particles reduced in size by a combination of impact and abrasion. It is performed in tumbling mills that describe a class of mills delimited by a cylindrical chamber filled with balls and/or rock that rotate around its longitudinal axis. Tumbling mills, whether they are autogenous, semi-autogenous, ball or rod, are classed according to the nature of the discharge as centre peripheral discharge mills, end peripheral discharge mills, overflow mills, and grate discharge mills. These mills are used in at least three industries: mining, cement and metal powders industries to …  Lire la suite

The gonad of the snail Helix aspersa is innervated by a branch of the intestinal nerve. Here it is demonstrated that nerve stimulation causes peristaltic contractions and the acceleration of cilia beating in the proximal part of the hermaphroditic duct. Acetylcholine and serotonin induced peristaltic contractions when applied without nerve stimulation. As well, serotonin induced the acceleration of cilia beating. The neuropeptide FMRFamide caused dilation of the hermaphroditic duct. Pharmacological blocking of acetylcholine and serotonin receptors with concurrent nerve stimulation induced a dilation similar to that caused by FMRFamide application. It is suggested that all three transmitters are released from …  Lire la suite

A divisive reorganization involves a series of transactions having as effect and purpose the division of the trading activities carried on by a single company or group of companies between two or more companies or groups of companies. This can be achieved by a sale of assets or by a transfer of shares belonging to the corporation to be divided, which would generally give rise to taxable capital gains. The thesis analyzes the tax implications of these two approaches, with particular focus on the latter, attempting a comparative view over the UK and Canadian relevant provisions. The two substantive chapters …  Lire la suite

Tissue homeostasis is maintained through a balance between controlled cell growth and apoptotic cell death. Deregulation of these processes is linked to cancer, auto-immune diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. In that regard, apoptosis is critical to remove cells that are potentially harmful or superfluous. The p53 tumour suppressor is a key regulator of this process. p53 induces apoptosis through the transcriptional activation of multiple proteins among which are members of the BCL-2 family of proteins. This family of proteins lie at the core of this process by controlling molecular events leading to the activation of the executors of the death sentence, …  Lire la suite

The detailed behaviour of the unsteady boundary layer and stall events occurred on a sinusoidally oscillating NACA 0012 airfoil at Re = 1.35 x 105 was investigated experimentally by using closely-spaced multiple hot-film sensor arrays. The hot-film measurements were supplemented by surface pressure measurements, hot-wire wake velocity surveys and smoke-flow visualizations. Three typical oscillation parameters: attached flow, light stall, and deep stall were tested. Special attention was focused on the non-intrusive identification of the spatial-temporal progression of the locations of the boundary-layer transition and separation and reattachment points for a range of oscillation frequencies and amplitudes both prior to, during, …  Lire la suite

The benefits and influences of parent involvement were examined among a group of children with learning disabilities (LD). One aim of this study was to determine whether different types of parent involvement are associated with educational benefits in special education. A second aim was to apply an existing model of parent involvement to assess its influences in this population. One hundred and twenty-three children with and without LD from grades 1 to 8 and their parents participated in the study. Children's grades and their attitudes to school were used as educational outcomes to evaluate the impact of their parents' involvement. …  Lire la suite

Recently, there has been a growing movement toward an Electronic Health Record (EHR) to improve quality of care. The paper-based medical record is still the primary source of information in today’s medical practice. In order to design the EHR, knowledge with regard to the current medium of documentation is required. In the MUHC Cedars Breast Clinic, 112 medical records for 7 surgeons were audited to determine what was recorded in the initial visits between year 2002 and 2003. A Likert scale questionnaire was developed and included 46 questions derived from the chart review. It was introduced to assess their opinions …  Lire la suite

This thesis considers the problem of how to bring foreign language students with a limited vocabulary knowledge, consisting mainly of high-frequency words, to the point where they are able to adequately comprehend authentic texts in a target domain or genre. It proposes bridging the vocabulary gap by first determining which word families account for 95% of the target domain's running words, and then having students learn these word families by reading texts in an order that allows for the incremental introduction of target vocabulary. This is made possible by a recently developed computer program that sorts through a collection of …  Lire la suite

The cinematic experience in Taisho Japan was a defining part of a spectrum of modernity's experiences associated with daily urban life. This paper argues that rather than theorizing film in rational terms common to "serious" film criticism focussing on aspects of production, Ozaki Midori envisioned the cinematic experience from the standpoint of an enthralled spectator, in terms of a sensual, bodily interaction with the cinematic image. Given the over-determined relationship of women to mass culture, one that is wrought with contradictions, Ozaki's writings on film open up the question of gender as it relates to spectatorship and the development of …  Lire la suite

Agrin is a nerve-derived factor that plays an important role in the formation of the neuromuscular junction. Interestingly, it is also expressed in other regions of the developing central and peripheral nervous systems, and we postulated that agrin is also a synaptogenic factor at the interneuronal synapse. To address agrin's role at the interneuronal synapse, we focused on a well-characterized peripheral interneuronal synapse in the superior cervical ganglia (SCG) and made use of transgenic mice with targeted deletions of the agrin gene: the z+ agrin-deficient and the agrin null (AGD-/-) animals. Synapses in the SCG are made onto a homogenous …  Lire la suite

The surface stress induced during the formation of alkanethiol [HS(CH 2)nCH3] self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold from the vapor phase was measured using a differential cantilever-based sensor. This custom-built system is capable of surface stress measurements with a sensitivity of 5 x 10-5 N/m using commercially-available atomic force microscopy cantilevers. A second system combining cantilever-based sensing and ellipsometry was also designed and built, capable of yielding simultaneous in situ surface stress and film thickness measurements. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) with molecular resolution was also performed ex situ in order to characterize the structure of the resulting SAMs. The complementary use …  Lire la suite

If spilled in significant quantities, non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs), such as gasoline, coal tar, and chlorinated solvents, will migrate downward through the subsurface. As the NAPL migrates through the soil or rock matrix, a significant fraction becomes 'trapped' due to capillary forces and may form pools above less permeable soil or rock layers. These 'trapped' NAPL globules and pools may partition into the groundwater and/or vapor phases, and serve as ongoing sources of contamination (i.e. source zones). Currently, the presence of NAPL in the subsurface is typically inferred from chemical analysis data. There are no techniques available for the direct …  Lire la suite

Living cells keep sensing the changes in their environments, mostly, via cell surface receptors for different ligands. Attachment-dependent cells are sensitive to alterations in extracellular matrix (ECM). ECM is not only required for cell survival, but also prerequisite for epidermal growth factor (EGF) to stimulate cell proliferation. The receptors for the majority of ECM components are integrins and the receptor for EGF is EGF receptor (EGFR). When bound by their ligands, integrins and EGFR induce signal transduction cascades composed of alternative pathways. A quantitative assessment of relative contributions of alternative pathways to one final cell signaling will help understand designing …  Lire la suite

Four lactating Holstein cows fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannulae were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square design to determine the effects of feeding raw and heat-treated flaxseed on ruminal fermentation parameters, ruminal fatty acid biohydrogenation (BH), nutrient utilization in various segments of the gastrointestinal tract, and plasma and milk composition of lactating dairy cows. Four diets were formulated: a control diet with no flaxseed (C); a raw flaxseed (RF); a micronized flaxseed (MF); and an extruded flaxseed (EF) diet. Ruminal pH, NH3N and total volatile fatty acids were not affected by dietary treatments. However, feeding flaxseed decreased …  Lire la suite