McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par A

Tea (Camellia sinensis), the traditional and popular drink, contains several bioactive compounds. The tea type and the preparation practices both affect the compositions of these compounds. The relaxant and anxiolytic L-theanine is an important bioactive compound unique to tea in the plant kingdom. The well-known stimulant, caffeine, is another bioactive compound of tea. The balance of concentrations of these two compounds highly determines the health effects of the tea beverage. To obtain a relaxing beverage, the L-theanine level should be higher than the level of caffeine. Several factors affect this balance such as the time, temperature, pH and solvent of …  Lire la suite

Cette thèse analyse les raisons pour lesquelles l’exigence d’utilité en matière de droit des brevets est récemment devenue une question difficile en droit canadien et suggère deux solutions pour surmonter les défis créés par les récents développements dans la jurisprudence. Premièrement, cette thèse entreprend un historique ciblé de l'exigence d'utilité en tant que critère de brevetabilité ; notant qu'elle garantit que les brevets sont accordés à des inventions utiles. Toutefois, dans le courant de la dernière décennie, l’exigence d’utilité – telle qu'appliquée par les cours et tribunaux canadiens - a été critiquée dans le milieu académique et contestée dans la …  Lire la suite

Younge, E. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Chodavarapu, Vamsy (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

This study falls into two parts. In Part 1 the development of ureterocolostomy techniques is first outlined. Then the literature is reviewed to give some indication of the frequency of renal damage and hyperchloraemic acidosis following ureterocolostomy. The apparent inability of more modern ureteral implantation methods to abolish these hazards is then considered.  Lire la suite

Retinoic acid (RA), the major biologically active form of vitamin A, is required for normal development of the mouse embryo. In particular, RA is necessary for the correct anteroposterior specification of the embryonic axis. Exposure to RA at certain stages of development leads to premature truncation of the vertebral column, accompanied by spina bifida. In contrast, embryos that are homozygous null for RARgamma do not exhibit these defects, indicating that this receptor specifically mediates this teratogenic effect. Differential display PCR and suppression subtractive hybridization were employed using the RARgamma null embryos in an attempt to identify downstream targets that may …  Lire la suite

A burgeoning mega-club in the heart of Montreal's gay village, Sky embodies many forces active in gay club cultures and villages across North America at the end of the twentieth century. This project documents the daily operations of Sky--as a complex architectural site, a complicated set of managerial practices, and a popular space in Montreal's Village--and outlines the theoretical implications of such an establishment for both the gay community and for club culture more generally. A large entertainment complex currently undergoing a major expansion, Sky cannot be theorized as either a wholly oppressive or completely liberatory development. Although Sky presents …  Lire la suite

Des prévisions récent indiquent qu'avant 2090, jusqu'à 90% des 3 premiers mètres du pergélisol va s'effondre à cause du réchauffement climatique. Ceci augmente les environnements anaérobiques et expose de grandes réserves de carbone à la dégradation microbienne. Ces conditions sont favorables pour la production de méthane (CH4) par les méthanogènes, un gaz ayant un potentiel de réchauffement global 25 fois plus élevé que le dioxyde de carbone (CO2). L'impact de l'augmentation de la température et les substrats sur l'activité et la diversité des bactéries méthanogènes a été étudié dans les sols provenant de l'île d'Axel Heiberg, dans le haut Arctique …  Lire la suite

Mount Royal, situated as it is on the south-east border of the Island of Montreal, is surrounded for many miles by an almost flat plain; this plain is bounded on the north by the foothills of the Laurentian plateau and extends southward to the Appalachian Mountains; this almost flat plain was once the bottom of an early Palaeozoic sea, and now constitutes the broad valley of the River St. Lawrence. [..  Lire la suite

Whitby, G. (Supervisors)  Lire la suite

Goodyear was the first to employ a catalyst in heating rubber and sulphur together, thus originating the process known as vulcanisation. This catalyst was an inorganic lead compound; and inorganic catalysts, especially compounds of lead, magnesium and calcium, have been in general use in the rubber industry since Goodyear's discovery. [...]  Lire la suite

The stability and rheology of enulsions and suspensions are of considerable interest both scientifically and technically. The aggregate (or bulk) properties of multiparticle systems have been studied in detail but relatively little information on the behaviour of individual particles in suspension is available despite the obvious value of such studies in providing an insight into the behaviour of multiparticle systems.  Lire la suite

A climatology of high wind events (HWEs) affecting Sable Island (44°N, 60°W) and Halifax (44.5°N, 63.5°W) was constructed for the period 1979--1995. We then focussed on HWEs at Sable Island in more detail because of their high frequency relative to Halifax. Events were stratified into four groups based on the direction of the peak speed: NE (1°--90°), SE (91°--180°), SW (181°--270°), and NW (271°--360°). Synoptic structures and statistically significant atmospheric anomalies were identified in composites for each group. More detailed structures were found in composites constructed with the aid of a cluster analysis. NW HWEs were associated with rapidly deepening …  Lire la suite

Calcium (Ca$ sp{2+}$) and protein kinase C (PKC) are believed to act as intracellular signals triggering the activation of NADPH oxidase in neutrophils leading to superoxide generation. This was tested on bovine neutrophils by chelating extracellular and/or intracellular free Ca$ sp{2+}$ and by measuring PKC activity when the cells were stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or opsonized zymosan (OZ). Chelation of extracellular Ca$ sp{2+}$ with EGTA did not alter O$ sb2 sp{-}$ production from PMA stimulated cells. However, it did cause a 64% decrease in O$ sb2 sp{-}$ production in the neutrophils when stimulated with OZ. When intracellular Ca$ …  Lire la suite

Solution methods for MDPs employing approximation allow for more acceptable computation time in domains with large state spaces. In this thesis we discuss the use of a metric based on the notion of bisimulation for solving MDPs described in a factored form. We propose an algorithm for performing state aggregation using this metric, and illustrate its performance on a standard benchmark domain.  Lire la suite

Hemorrhagic necrosis involving the inner third of the left ventricle is seen in 50% of deaths post-cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). It occurs almost exclusively in hypertrophied ventricles which fibrillate during CPB. The normal distribution of blood flow is epicardial (EPI) in systole and endocardial (ENDO) in diastole. The net result is an EPI/ENDO ratio of 0.8 (0.5 - 1.1). We propose that any imbalance between the driving forces and resistance in the heart may lead to a redistribution of blood flow which may jeopardize the viability of the endocardium.  Lire la suite

This thesis analyses the simplification of fashion in the French "beau monde" at the end of the eighteenth century. It reveals that the simplified fashion of the 1770s and 1780s was the result of a new feeling for nature. New perceptions of the body led physicians to plead for a new fashion, more respectful of the natural characters of the body. On the aesthetic level, natural simplicity was meant to be the only way to recover original truth and energy. Moreover, anglomania, by way of sustained exchanges with England, contributed to the development of a simpler and more egalitarian fashion. …  Lire la suite

Bien que certaines bactéries puissent être bénéfiques au système immunitaire de l’hôte, d’autres peuvent être dangereuses durant la grossesse. La période périnatale est critique pour le développement du cerveau. Plusieurs processus neurodéveloppementaux peuvent être perturbés par des agressions environnementales telles que l’activation immune maternelle et fœtale. Des dommages placentaires affectant le transport de nutriments, la production d’hormones et facteurs inflammatoires peuvent affecter le cerveau en développement. L’infection placentaire, nommée chorioamniotite, est associée à un risque élevé de naissance prématurée, de retard de croissance intra-utérin (RCIU) et de dommages cérébraux, eux-mêmes associés à la genèse de troubles neurocomportementaux dont la prévalence …  Lire la suite

Multivariate ordination techniques were used to characterize the direction and magnitude of coral community changes on west coast reefs in Barbados between 1982 and 1992, and to relate these changes to coastal eutrophication and variation in Diadema antillarum densities (grazing pressure). D. antillarum densities were substantially lower in 1992 than in 1982, reflecting the 1983 mass mortality event. Reductions in urchin density were greater on less eutrophic reefs than eutrophic reefs. Cover by macrophytic algae increased, cover by crustose coralline algae decreased, and the number of coral species decreased between 1982 and 1992. With the notable exception of the most …  Lire la suite

Although mRNAs encoding the histone proteins are among the most abundant mRNAs in mammalian oocytes, the mechanism regulating their translation in these cells has not been identified. Most histone mRNAs are not polyadenylated but instead carry in their 3'-utr a highly conserved stem-loop structure. In somatic cells, the stem-loop binding protein (SLBP) is expressed during S-phase of the cell cycle and associates with the stem-loop of histone mRNAs promoting their processing and translation and thereby coordinating their expression to DNA replication. As histone mRNAs are abundant in immature oocytes which are in G2 of the cell cycle and in ovulated …  Lire la suite

The design of single-mode fibers for wideband communication networks is of considerable current interest. The triangular-index fiber with a capability of shifting the zero-dispersion wavelength from 1.3$ mu m$ to 1.55$ mu m$ has been attracting much current attention. In this work, we direct our attention to the bending loss property of the triangular-index fiber with a depressed or elevated cladding ring and present some near-optimal designs. Reliable vector-mode methods are used for the calculation of both dispersion and bending losses. Results show that the presence of a depressed or elevated ring can yield a reduction in the level of …  Lire la suite

This thesis presents a virtual reality system developed to support the training of astronauts as operators of the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) at the Canadian Space Agency. The objective of this system called Virtual Operations and Training Environment (VOTE), is to provide 3D visualization and simulation tools used by instructors to help astronauts understand MSS remote manipulator operations conducted in the context of the International Space Station assembly. The thesis first presents both telerobotics and virtual reality fields with accompanying literature survey followed by the description of the MSS hardware, operation and ground based simulator. A description of the design …  Lire la suite

The average life expectancy of humans increased significantly, in considerable part as a result of advances in the medical field. As normal aging is accompanied by cognitive changes that can impair normal functioning, the management of elders with cognitive impairments becomes an emerging priority. Using young and aged rats that were behaviorally tested to assess their cognitive status, we aimed at understanding the neural substrates behind age-associated cognitive impairments. To characterize morphologically the changes in cortical circuits, we used a combination of intracellular filling of cortical pyramidal neurons and immunocytochemistry to characterize the dendritic loss and the cell-specific changes in …  Lire la suite

Les premiers romans étaient des romans d'aventures. L'Iliade est un roman d'aventures guerrières et l'Odyssée est un roman d'aventures maritimes, peu importe s'ils soient en vers; la prose n'a commencé vraiment qu'avec l'imprimerie quand on pouvait s'adresser à un seul lecteur en particulier. Donc, le roman est aussi vieux que la littérature elle-même. Cependant, le roman, le genre littéraire qui raconte une histoire où les personnages semblent vivre, a subi des transformations complexes et inattendues à travers les siècles selon les événements et les caprices politiques, scientifiques, et religieux.  Lire la suite

Brais, Bernard (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

The parathyroid glands have been recognized in all classes of vertebrates with the exception of fishes (1). As a rule there are four distinct glands so situated with regard to the thyroid gland that they have been referred to as the superior or external and the inferior or internal pairs. Sandstrom (2) was the first to describe the superior pair. For some reason or other they were forgotten until eleven years later - 1891 - they were rediscovered by Gley (3). The inferior pair were described by Kohn (4) in 1895. Accessory parathyroid tissue is sometimes present and may be …  Lire la suite

Cette dissertation examine le concept du « vide » dans la poésie et pensée d’Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens et Marianne Moore, en soutenant que celui-ci informe la pensée et forme esthétique de ces poètes de façons différentes. Pour chaque poète, le vide représente une présence dynamique qui contribue à la création de sens à travers le non-dit, le non-spécifié, ou l’obscur. Chaque poète répond à son milieu moderne et son scepticisme caractéristique en acceptant l’absence comme un aspect fondamental de la nature qui donne un sens au monde. Dans son introduction, cette dissertation présente les façons dont le vide ou …  Lire la suite

Menn, Stephen (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

This thesis describes the preparation, characterization and biological study of block copolymer aggregates as drug delivery vehicles. A novel method is described for the synthesis of biodegradable and biocompatible copolymers of polycaprolactone-b-poly(ethylene oxide). The copolymers and their aggregates are then characterized with special attention given to properties which are of most interest to applications in drug delivery such as copolymer composition, thermal behavior, critical water content, critical micelle concentration, partition coefficient of hydrophobic solubilizates, morphology of the aggregates and in vitro biocompatibility. The polycaprolactone-b-poly(ethylene oxide) copolymer micelles are first explored as a delivery vehicle for the neurotrophic agents FK506 and …  Lire la suite

Hirose, Iwao (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

This study explores the relationships between the integration experiences of adolescent newcomers in one francophone secondary school in Montreal and the current policies and programs related to educational integration. The research draws on observations and participants' descriptions and insights to address three principal questions: How is integration experienced by adolescent newcomers in a francophone school in Montreal? How do these students' experiences inform our understanding of the relationships among host (second) language learning/teaching, integration, and identity construction? What are the implications of these newcomer students' integration experiences for educational theories, policies and programs/practices that target such newcomers? These questions emerge …  Lire la suite

These studies were carried out in an attempt to elucidate the mode of action of the drug phenothiazine. The first record of phenothiazine (thiodiphenylamine ) appears with its synthesis in 1885 by Bernthsen, in his studies on compounds of the methylene blue group. It gives rise to many dyes, the most important being methylene blue, Lauth’s violet, and thionol. Phenothiazine is a soft, smooth powder of talc-like consistency, slightly off yellowish-white in colour. It has a faint but characteristic odour and taste. It is highly insoluble in water, but readily soluble in the fat solvents, alcohol, xylol, toluol, ether, chloroform. …  Lire la suite

In presenting the letters of Mrs.Montagu, Mrs. Thrale,and Fanny Burney, I have tried to allow the ladies to speak for themselves. I have giventheir comments on everyday routine, on striking events and on their O'Vll friends and acquaintances, so that they may reveal their ownpersonalities and experiences. In their comments the accent of the eighteenth century is heard plainly, and through these letters we are givenan opportunity of meeting the people of a past age. The three ladies may speak in different tones, uut it blends into,one striking picture.Mrs.Montagu is the best observer of political events. Even as a young …  Lire la suite

Calf-thymus and mouse Erlich ascites carcinoma DNA-RNA hybrids were prepared by transcribing denatured DNA in vitro with RNA polymerase. The hybrids were purified by chromatography on methylated albumin kieselguhr after digesting the unhybridized nucleic acid with Neurospora crassa endonuclease. The sedimentation constants of both calf-thymus (11% and 19% pure) hybrids and mouse-tumor (28% pure) hybrid in sucrose gradients were approximately 4S. The hybrids melted at 73 – 76 °c (in 0.1M Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 0.01M MgCl2 , 0.1M NaCl). In Cs2SO4 density gradients the hybrids banded at a buoyant density of 1.52 gm cm^-3, and were purified 2 -fold by …  Lire la suite

In an attempt to obtain direct evidence on the reflectivities and transmissions of thin high-level clouds in the infra-red, measurements of radiation at the surface are being made as part of a continuing study. The present work is a theoretical study of the results which one may expect to obtain for various typical atmospheric conditions. The conclusions reached are that the effects of carbon dioxide absorption and solar radiation are negligible, as are fluctuations in the ozone content. The effect of water vapour is important but can be determined from the routine radiosonde soundings. [...]  Lire la suite

The phenomenon of polymerization has attracted considerable scientific attention during recent years. This activity is due to the fact that many naturally-occurring materials, important from both the scientific and industrial standpoints, such as cellulose, starch and other complex polysaccharides, resins, rubber and proteins, have been shown to be products whose properties were similar, if not identical, with those of highly polymerized compounds produced in the laboratory. [...]  Lire la suite

Kirmayer, Laurence (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Various electrical methods for the diagnosis and study of human physiology and pathology are now in general use. The most important of these are the electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram and electromyogram. All are a measure of the electrical activity within the tissues of the organ under study. Pathological changes within the tissue cells are reflected by a change in electrical recordings from the normal. Clinical progress has been considerable with these electrical devices.  Lire la suite

This thesis examines the novels of quebecois writer Marie-Claire Blais from a North American feminist literary critical perspective. It challenges the assumption that francophone women writers should only be studied from a French Feminist perspective by attempting to situate Blais' writing within a North-American "female literary tradition". Issues of Blais' cultural specifity as a quebecois writer are also addressed.  Lire la suite

With few exceptions the Christian passages in Beowulf are very short. However, their importance lies not so much in this fact as in their frequency which imparts a truly Christian atmosphere to this heathen poem. None of these allusions tell of Christ, the Atonement, or the miracles, but they are of the Old Testament stories, for example, of Cain, and of the Flood, yet they bear the spirit of Christianity insomuch as even these ideas would not have been familiar topics if the author had not been enlightened by the new faith. [...]  Lire la suite

Charles Baudelaire apparaît aujourd'hui comme le premier en date des poètes dits "modernes” et c'est parmi les poètes que le placent les anthologies contemporaines. Mais la renommée et l'influence de la poésie baudelairienne ont tendance à faire oublier le fait que Baudelaire fut également prosateur et que c’est à la prose qu'il dut ses premiers lauriers littéraires. La traduction des "Histoires Extraordinaires" d’Edgar Poe ne fut-elle pas son premier succès, et le plus indiscutable? Néanmoins, l’oeuvre en prose de Baudelaire ne représente qu'environ un quart de son oeuvre publiée — elle souffre donc d'un manque de volume par rapport à …  Lire la suite