McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 2018

Kienzle, Jorg Andreas (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Bartlett, Susan (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Shrier, Ian (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

Despite the advances in understanding the molecular mechanism of protein synthesis, putative or unknown proteins that play a role in translation or its regulation need to be further characterized. Classical genetic methods to investigate these aspects have limitations, especially in the case of studying essential genes and/or overlapping pathways involved in translation. In this work, we devise a new system that circumvents these limitations and allows us to study the role of novel or putative proteins in translation. This system is based on tagging a gene of interest with an ssrA degron tag that renders it susceptible to ClpXP degradation. …  Lire la suite

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) is a deadly malignancy that most commonly presents at a late stage and is ultimately refractory to systemic therapies. Even more devastating is the familial clustering of PAC (and other cancers) that is observed in 10-15% of cases. These kindreds, however, represent an opportune subset of patients for studies aimed at early detection and precision oncology strategies. While a fraction of the observed familial clustering of PAC is attributable to inherited (i.e., germline) genetic mutations in known PAC susceptibility genes (e.g., BRCA1 and BRCA2), the genetic causes for the overwhelming majority of familial PAC (~85%) remain undefined. …  Lire la suite

While the field of action recognition can be divided into many sub-fields, the most popular area today is that of human action recognition. Given a short video of a human performing some action, the goal of an algorithm is to classify it given a list of known categories. As with much of computer vision, early approaches were model-based but recent advances rely exclusively on machine learning as the problem definition is very well suited to it. At present, neural network approaches dominate, with Feichtenhofer et al.Spatiotemporal Multiplier Network approach [34] being the current state-of-the-art. Unlike some other areas of computer …  Lire la suite

Nous présentons deux ameliorations au theorie ”Structural Phase Field Crystal” (XPFC)binaire. Le premier decrit une phénoménologie pour une modèle des fonctions de corrélationsdes densités, et le deuxième augmente la modèle XPFC binaire au delà de la modèle idéale enajutant une terme au énergie libre de Helmholtz. Ces améliorations sont appliqués aux étudeskinétiques de la précipité d’une solution. Nous voyons un chemin de nucléation similaire auxéxpériments réçentes dans lequel le solution se sépare en regions avec concentration desoluté bas et élèvé suivi par nucléation dans les régions avec hautes concentrations de soluté.De plus, nous decouvrons une acceleration de l’acroissement du precipité …  Lire la suite

The transition from school to assuming adult roles is difficult for many, but individuals with disabilities often face additional challenges during this time. A variety of stakeholders are involved in helping students during the transition process and teachers, in particular, guide students through many transitions. Using a phenomenological approach, this study explored teacher perspectives and understanding of the transition planning process (TPP). Thirteen elementary and high school general education teachers completed questionnaires and participated in semi-structured interviews. The responses to their questionnaires were explored using descriptive analyses while interview data were examined using thematic analysis. The results focus on teacher …  Lire la suite

Kearney, Robert E. (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

With recent increasing demands for higher capacity in optical networks, there is a need for high-speed optical modulation. This desire is especially pronounced with the growth of high volume data centers. There is a demand for low-power modulators that can be placed on printed circuit boards. Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZM)s, in a range of different materials, are widely used for this purpose. However, their power consumption is determined by the relatively large electrode size which they require. Some time ago researchers in optical fiber switches introduced the concept of the loop-mirror for nonlinear applications. This device is conceptually an MZM in …  Lire la suite

Childress, Lilian (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Miniaturized, ultrasensitive biosensors capable of rapidly detecting disease-relevant biomarkers at point-of-care hold significant potentials to serve as powerful low-cost diagnostic tools. With many apparent advantages, field-effect-transistor-based biosensors (FET-biosensors) have emerged as a promising platform for realizing rapid and ultrasensitive biomarker molecular diagnosis. FET biosensors feature fast response, label-free assay, high sensitivity (enabled by the unique property of FET channel material and structure), good compatibility with batch fabrication, and thus low unit cost. The miniature nature of FET-biosensors also permits their easy integration into microfluidic devices to gain additional advantages such as multiplexed tests (detection of multiple markers) and less sample/reagent …  Lire la suite

Mandato, Craig A. (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

Hewlin, Patricia (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Majnemer, Annette (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

Participation has a particular ideological function in the context of digital networks. Approaching participation as a complex of values rather that a particular form of decision making or organizational structure, this dissertation analyzes a range of contemporary practices that embrace participation as an ideal. Such practices include social movements, open conferencing events in the knowledge and IT industries, and social practice art. Through these sites I seek to clarify the way that participation operates in terms of what Slavoj Žižek refers to as a mode of "enjoyment." While in all cases participation is presented as a path towards progress or …  Lire la suite

Le basin versant de la Rivière aux Brochets présente un historique de pollution par le phosphore (P) liée à son lessivage en surface et par voie souterraine, ainsi que suite à l’érosion des sols agricoles. Il est donc important de prendre en considération les facteurs pouvant changer la dynamique de sorption et désorption du phosphore au sol pouvant contribuer à une augmentation du P dans la solution du sol. Les présentes recherches étudièrent les effets de l’amendement (ou non-amendement) d’un sol avec différentes quantités de résidus de tige de maïs sur la sorption et désorption du P. Également, l’effet de …  Lire la suite

Philippe Archambault (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Buckeridge, David (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Agus Sasmito (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Les observateurs non-asymptotiques ont reçu beaucoup d'attention ces derniers temps en raison de avancement dans la théorie du système de commande hybride. C'est parce que la commande rapide est essentielle pour les systèmes hybrides. Des observateurs conventionnels tels que l'observateur de Luenberger et les filtres de Kalman sont asymptotiques et ne parviennent pas à atteindre cet objectif. D'autre part, les méthodes algébriques offrent des alternatives d'estimation non-asymptotiques. Cela a été étudié de manière approfondie dans les systèmes LTI. Dans le cas des systèmes LTV, il y a une littérature très limitée pour l'estimation d'état et des paramètres. Cette thèse fournit …  Lire la suite

In the present thesis, the transition from regular to Mach reflection in steady and unsteady flows is considered by means of numerical simulations and analytical models. The analytical model by Li and Ben-Dor for the Mach stem height in steady supersonic flow was rederived and a number of typesetting mistakes in the equations of the original Li and Ben-Dor publication were found and corrected. Numerical simulations of oblique shock wave reflection in steady supersonic flows confirmed that the transition from regular to Mach reflection (RR-MR) occurs close to the detachment point and the delay in transition beyond the detachment point …  Lire la suite

Pursuing long-term career goals often leads people to make sacrifices that can have enduring affective and self-regulatory costs. We investigated whether sacrificing basic psychological needs to reach a career goal was detrimental beyond the sacrifice of physical needs (e.g., sleep) or core activities (e.g., time with friends) using a year-long, 6-wave, prospective study of 310 young adults actively pursuing a career goal. Career goal motivation, aspirations and career demandingness were assessed at the start of a school year, while three forms of sacrifice were assessed at midyear. Psychological distress and self-regulation were assessed at both the beginning and end of …  Lire la suite

Metabolic stress in transitioning dairy cows is characterized by low glucose and high beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs). Such a metabolic milieu appears to have negative effects on the ovarian follicle and overall fertility. We hypothesized that supplementing transition cows with rumen protected yeast-derived microbial protein (YMP) alleviates metabolic stress and enhances ovarian follicular function. For this, we supplemented the diet of transition dairy cows with (n=6; supplemented) or without (n=13; control) YMP. Supplemented cows received 50g of YMP daily for 3 weeks before calving and 200g daily for 4 weeks after calving. Blood samples were collected at …  Lire la suite

L'adénocarcinome de l'estomac proximal est la maladie tumorale montante la plus rapide en Amérique du Nord. Il est couramment associé à l'ascite maligne (AM), définie comme l'accumulation pathologique de fluide contenant des cellules cancéreuses dans la cavité péritonéale. La métastase péritonéale est le site le plus courant de la progression du cancer gastrique (CG) après la chirurgie de l'intention curative et est la principale cause de décès. Une fois que la dissémination péritonéale se produit, le processus malin est considéré comme non curatif car il est rarement sujet à une résection chirurgicale et les régimes chimiothérapeutiques sont simplement palliatifs. Nous …  Lire la suite

A quiet city is not necessarily an interesting or successful one. The soundscape approach, which implies that the sonic environment can have positive and negative aspects, applies to a wide range of urban scales, from individual buildings and parks to the entire city; the approach also applies to plans, designs, and decisions made both before and after an intervention is done. Soundscapes contribute to a sense of place and encourage activities appropriate for the environment (e.g. marketplace sounds encouraging conversation and purchasing). Yet, despite the quickly growing body of evidence supporting the potential for improved urban sound quality, virtually no …  Lire la suite

Legitimacy of international investment arbitration must be re-conceptualized. As mechanisms of transnational governance, investment tribunals act both as dispute-settlers, and as norm-creators. This necessarily captures the attention of a public broader than the parties; concurrently, it implies that the integrity of the decision-making process and the quality of outcomes must meet a higher threshold. Escalating new and old concerns, coupled with a series of reforms to the regime, are a result of a stubborn refusal to extend the discussion beyond individual disputes. Against this backdrop, this thesis argues that the neutrality of investment arbitrators and consistency in their interpretation of …  Lire la suite

Phenomenal conscious experience – the subjective ‘what-it-feels-like’ – can be explored through two scholarly traditions: gathering third-person data from psychophysics or using first-person phenomenology. The present thesis follows these traditions with two original manuscripts that explore conscious experience through each method. The first manuscript is an investigation into the richness of conscious experience. The infamous question of whether our conscious experience is rich or sparse is heavily contended, with empirical evidence supporting both sides of the debate. We employ a dual-task behavioural psychophysics paradigm consisting of a modified Sperling task combined with a cognitive load to examine the richness of …  Lire la suite

Photoreceptors act as light-sensing units of the retina and are frequently lost in retinal degenerative diseases, which affect millions of people worldwide. Photoreceptor cell survival critically depends on the integrity of gene expression. It is therefore of importance to identify and characterize factors that protect the photoreceptor transcriptome. In this study, we show that the temporal transcription factor Casz1 is required to maintain rod photoreceptor survival in the mouse retina, notably through its role in establishing and maintaining proper nuclear organization. Conditional ablation of Casz1 in maturing rod photoreceptors led to retinal degeneration over a period of 8-12 months, implicating …  Lire la suite

This object of this thesis is to formulate and test a revised methodology of comparison in the study of religion. It presents a history of attempts to compare religious traditions, their features and people, and critiques significant methodological moves by appeal to contemporary work on comparison, ethical subjectivity, narrative historiography, and postcolonial methods. It proposes in light of these critiques a new method that takes as its operative metaphor the sacralising of space using mandala forms in the conversion of Tibet to Buddhism. From this theoretical mode, this thesis moves to consider two corpora of life narrations: those of realised …  Lire la suite

Contexte: La recherche démontre que les soins palliatifs précoces permettent d'améliorer divers aspects des soins du cancer, notamment l'intensité des symptômes, le soutien psychosocial, les soins spirituels et la prise de décision. Malgré ces avantages et la disponibilité croissante des services de soins palliatifs, la majorité des patients atteints de cancer sont référés à l'équipe de soins palliatifs seulement quand ils sont en fin de vie. En tant que « gardiens » de soins palliatifs, les oncologues peuvent nous fournir des renseignements importants sur les raisons pour lesquelles les patients atteints de cancer ne sont pas référés assez tôt et …  Lire la suite

Pop Cycle for percussion quartet features a collection of Canadian popular songs that are presented in an unrecognizable state, as their melodies and narrative properties are abstracted in order to remove their original, 'authentic' cultural context. Inspired by the intertextual works of George Crumb (such as The River of Life (Songs of Joy and Sorrow) - American Songbook I, 2003), I have selected eight Canadian songs that represent my personal cultural experience. Pop Cycle combines the structure of a vinyl LP and the curation of a personal playlist to build an original narrative from this pre-existing musical material. Also inspired …  Lire la suite

On 1 July 2003, the UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICMW) entered into force after finally reaching the threshold of twenty ratifying states since its initial signature in 1990. Despite standing as the most comprehensive treaty in the field of migration (Pécoud 2009, 332), the ICMW has been ratified by fewer than 50 states as of 2015, making it the least ratified treaty among all major human rights treaties (Ruhs 2012, 1281). A quick survey of the ratifying states shows a list of states comprised of developing, …  Lire la suite

Developing high strength steels has received increasing attention in steel industry, in order to meet the body-in-white weight reduction strategies pursued by the automotive industry for fuel economy and vehicle safety. In this context, medium manganese (Mn) steels containing 3 to 12 wt.% Mn are one of the strong candidates for the so-called third-generation advanced high-strength steels (AHSS), due to the superior mechanical properties exceeding the first-generation AHSS and the potentially lower cost compared to the high Mn second-generation AHSS. The ultrafine grain size and high fraction of retained austenite, adjustable to various TRIP (transformation-induced plasticity) and/or TWIP (twinning-induced plasticity) …  Lire la suite

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an interconnected membrane network of tubules and sheets found in all eukaryotic cells. The formation of this interconnected network requires homotypic fusion of ER membranes, which is mediated by a family of dynamin-like large Atlastin GTPases, including mammalian Atlastins, yeast Sey1p and plant RHD3 (ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE 3). As a plant member of Atlastin GTPases, the mechanistic basis of how RHD3 acts in ER membrane fusion process is largely unknown.In the first part of the thesis, a systemic structure-function analysis of the action of different RHD3 domains in mediating ER fusion was conducted. Similar to …  Lire la suite

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) are the largest family of cell surface receptors and their signalling functions are important in every system in the human body. While their heterotrimeric G protein partners are key in signal transduction, within their composition of α and βγ subunits the latter dimer remains relatively understudied. To expand our understanding of its roles in general, but specifically on Gβγ degradation and signalling effects, we used online databases of human biological pathways and functional protein association networks to analyze data previously extracted from Gβγ affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry in a proteomic screen conducted in the …  Lire la suite

Tamblyn, Robyn (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Human T-cell Leukemia Virus type 1 (HTLV-1) was the first human retrovirus discovered in 1980. It is the causal agent of two well characterized human diseases, Adult T-cell Leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1-Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Few treatment options have been developed for ATL and HAM/TSP; the median survival times for ATL remains under a year, and treatment options of HAM/TSP remain palliative in nature. Thankfully the incidence of disease in HTLV-1 infected patients is relatively low, with only approximately 5% of individuals developing ATL and 2% HAM/TSP. One major obstacle in the development of effective therapies is a lack …  Lire la suite

Signe annonciateur d'une maladie létale et difficile à traiter, le cancer du sein au stade précoce est un sujet d'étude qui malgré son importance, est souvent négligé. Le cancer du sein au stade précoce est difficile à détecter et à classifier. Les méthodes histopathologiques utilisées pour détecter ces cancers sont subjectives, et résultent souvent en des diagnostics variables dépendant du professionnel responsable du. L'utilisation de méthodes informatiques quantitatives peut atténuer ces problèmes, mais les solutions existantes ne prennent pas en compte l'hétérogénéité intratumorale. Le fonctionnement souvent obscur de ces méthodes constitue également un obstacle à leur utilisation par des professionnels …  Lire la suite

The question of consumption and clothing in Tehran has long captivated not only scholars of Iran but also everyday Iranians residing both inside and outside of the country. Theories about why the Islamic Republic's capital is gripped with a passion for clothing have enthralled everyday Tehranis who themselves participate in this consumerism. This thesis begins by unsettling popular claims that Iranians, particularly women, who participate in this consumption are doing so to push against the Islamic Republic's regime and out of a desire to be "western." Instead, this thesis looks at how specifically middle-class women use everyday dressing to navigate …  Lire la suite

Le silicium sur isolant (SOI) est devenu un matériel intéressant pour les dispositifs photoniques intégrés grâce à ses possibilités d'intégration de dispositifs optiques avec la technologie des semi-conducteurs à l'oxyde de métal complémentaires (CMOS) et son faible coût. En outre, le grand contraste d'indice du système SOI permet la fabrication de dispositifs très compacts. Le multiplexage en longueur d'onde (WDM) est une technique clé pour les réseaux de télécommunications et la communication des données à haute capacité. Les filtres optiques sont l'un des éléments clés pour la mise en oeuvre de circuits photoniques intégrés (PICs) et de systèmes WDM de …  Lire la suite

Ballinger, Susan Gail (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Smith, Donald L. (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Schizophrenia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder affecting roughly 1% of the population, making it a significant public health concern [Sawa and Snyder, 2002]. Presentation of schizophrenia includes positive (hallucinations, delusions) and negative (lack of motivation, inability to feel pleasure) symptoms, in addition to cognitive impairments [Owen et al., 2016]. However, both symptom burden and associated brain alterations are highly heterogeneous and intimately linked to prognosis. To characterize the clinical heterogeneities, there is a need to develop methods that can predict symptom burden at the individual level. To serve this purpose, machine learning algorithms were implemented to first derive clinical subgroups …  Lire la suite

Dans la plupart des codes de construction nationaux, la classification des sites est basée sur le paramètre Vs30, la vitesse moyenne des ondes de cisaillement jusqu’à une profondeur de 30 m en dessous de la surface, et définit les facteurs de fondation (Fa et Fv) appliqués aux mouvements de référence. Un microzonage sismique délimite une règion en fonction des types de sols et est généralement obtenu en combinant l’information provenant de diverses sources, chacune ayant un degré d'incertitude variable. Un microzonage préliminaire peut être dérivé à partir des cartes de la géologie de la surface ou des cartes de l'élévation …  Lire la suite

Breitner, John (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

“at the still point” is a composition for full orchestra that explores the concept of non-duality by reflecting in a special way the poem by T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton, first of the Four Quartets. The dissertation comprises two volumes: the score and the analysis. In the broadest sense, the composition metaphorically re-presents the sentiments expressed in the poem through a process known as an ekphrasis. The form and structure of a section of the poem also inform certain technical aspects of my composition. More specifically, a tripartite continuum was created in “at the still point” for each of three compositional …  Lire la suite

Ce travail étudie la transmission d'une onde de détonation CJ au travers une surface qui délimite deux régions de densités différentes. Associé à la détonation qui est transmise, il y a une onde de choc ou d'expansion qui est réfléchie, ainsi qu'une surface de contact qui sépare les deux gaz. Le problème est abordé initialement de manière analytique. On constate que, si la détonation passe vers un milieu à densité moins élevée, une forte détonation est transmise et une onde d'expansion est réfléchie. Si au contraire, la détonation passe vers un milieu à densité plus élevé, une détonation CJ avec …  Lire la suite

Dans le bassin versant de la rivière Nicolet, située dans le sud du Québec, le ruissellement provenant de la fonte des neiges est responsable du débit de pointe printanier, qui peut s’avérer une inondation si la température augmente rapidement dans un court délai. Ayant entrepris dans cette étude de modéliser le débit de la rivière Nicolet, les effets du changement climatique sur le comportement hydrologique de ce bassin versant furent étudiés en comparant les caractéristiques des débits historiques à ceux modélisés pour l’avenir selon des données climatiques provenant de divers scénarios de l'évolution du climat. Le Soil and Water Assessment …  Lire la suite

Brown, Claire (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite