McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par B

Sabor, Peter (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Anne de Graville's 1521 translation of Boccacio's epic the Teseida delle nozze d'Emilia was part of a global movement striving to defend and illustrate the French language. The first part of this thesis thus studies the genesis of the defense and illustration of vernacular languages undertaking, while the second part raises theoretical problems regarding the distinction of genres, while putting particular emphasis on the work of Anne de Graville, a generally overlooked writer belonging to the group called "les Rhetoriqueurs". The terms epopee and roman are then studied from a philological angle. This study starts with the hypothesis that, throughout …  Lire la suite

This thesis attempts to analyse the status of the 16th-century narrative---history, novel, epic---in its historical (instead of 'literary') context. The standard 'poetical' categories have been overlooked in favour of an axiology of 'truth' and 'falsehood' that overshadows all discourse from the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 17th century. Abandoning the traditional avenues of poetics (appraisal, classification, definition), this thesis studies writing and human invention in their relation to the presence or evocation of a transcendental divinity. Christianity establishes a permanent break with both idolatrous paganism and iconoclastic Judaism so as to impose a new 'iconophile' relation …  Lire la suite

Maura Pugliatti (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

"The existence of sigma ($ sigma$) receptors have been proposed by Martin and co-workers (1976) as a new class of opioid receptors to explain certain "psychotomimetic-like" behaviors induced by some benzomorphans (N-allylnormetazocine, pentazocine) in the chronic spinal dog. Later on, the observation that the typical opioid antagonist, naloxone, failed to antagonize some of these behavioral effects led to a reconsideration of the nature of $ sigma$ receptors. It was determined that although several $ sigma$ ligands displayed reasonable affinity for the phencyclidine (PCP) receptor and that their activation could mimic PCP "psychotomimetic-like" effects in animals, $ sigma$ receptors were a …  Lire la suite

Alvars are naturally open habitats which are found in the Great Lakes region in North America and in Scandinavia. The insect fauna of four types of alvars (grassland, grassland savanna, shrubland and pavement) was sampled in the summer of 1996 on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. A total of 9791 specimens from four target insect groups (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha, Hymenoptera: Symphyta and Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) was identified. Results showed that the grassland savanna and grassland alvars supported the highest number of insect specimens whereas the pavement alvar supported the highest number of species. The origin of the fauna differed between …  Lire la suite

Durham, Heather D. (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Amin, Andalib, (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Cette these pose l'hypothese de la particularite du groupe des camionneurs de longue-distance (truckeurs) tant sur le plan des realites sous-culturelles que sur celui des discours ideologiques. Le travail de terrain s'est effectue dans le nord-ouest quebecois, c'est-a-dire en Abitibi et a la Baie James. Appliquant le concept de culture la ou l'on aurait tendance a avoir recours au concept du groupe de travail (occupationnel), s'appuyant sur la notion d'ideologie des truckeurs la ou l'on parlerait normalement d'ideologie de classe, l'argumentation demontre que le groupe d'identite en question est un groupe sous-culturel de plein droit, existant dans un territoire abstrait: …  Lire la suite

Mayo, Nancy (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

L'impact de la maladie est un concept qui a émergé au cours des années 80 afin de décrire et comprendre à quel point les symptômes et les traitements d'une maladie chronique créent de l'interférence avec les activités de la vie quotidienne jugées importantes par les patients. Cette dissertation présente deux manuscrits appliquant les théories modernes sur les outils de mesure et la modélisation afin d'examiner le concept de l'impact de la maladie chez les gens atteints de sclérose en plaque (SP). Le premier manuscrit présente les résultats d'un exercice de codification sur le modèle conceptuel de l'Organisation Mondiale de la …  Lire la suite

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant changes to Canadians’ income, preferences, and purchasing behaviour, thus impacting the demand for goods and services. Industries deemed non-essential and providing consumer-facing services were severely hit, such as the foodservices sector, in which industrial GDP was down 28% from 2019. Meanwhile, sales in food retail stores increased by 10% as demand shifted from food consumed away from home to food consumed at home. Important disruptions occurred in agricultural production sectors, such as in the meat processing industry where outbreaks of coronavirus caused important economic consequences along the supply chain. This research aims at identifying the …  Lire la suite

The deformation of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean occurs along well-defined linear kinematic features, where shear and divergence form regions of open water (leads) and ice ridges. The presence of leads and ridges in the ice cover impacts ocean-atmosphere moisture and heat fluxes, as well as salt/freshwater fluxes in the surface ocean as ice forms or melts in the winter and summer, respectively. A realistic representation of sea-ice deformations by sea-ice models is therefore essential to adequately model the Arctic climate system. The goal of this thesis is to evaluate the ability of different sea-ice rheological models to simulate …  Lire la suite

La plupart des modèles de dynamique de glace marine en Arctique présentement utilisés dans la communauté scientifique sont basés sur une formulation des déformations correspondant aux matériaux viscoplastiques (VP). Les modèles VP font l'approximation que les petites déformations élastiques (réversibles) peuvent être remplacées par des déformations visqueuses (irréversibles), ce qui représente un nouveau puits d'énergie fictif dans les modèles. L'énergétique des modèles de glace est affectée par la résolution spatiale du réseau, ainsi que par le nombre d'itérations requises pour la résolution des équations non-linéaires gouvernant le système. Plus le nombre d'itérations et la résolution sont élevés, plus les lignes …  Lire la suite

Two classes of antimigraine drugs specifically target serotonin (5-HT) receptors: agonists of the 5-HT1B/1D receptors and antagonists of the 5-HT2B/2C receptors. They are respectively used in symptomatic and prophylactic treatments. The study of their mechanisms of action can assist in better uncovering the mechanisms underlying migraine. Using molecular, pharmacological, immunocytochemical and histochemical approaches, we have studied the distribution and the role of the 5-HT receptors targeted by these medications in human trigeminal ganglion (TG) and extracerebral vessels (PV), two tissues of primary importance in migraine pathology. We first focused our study of symptomatic treatment on sumatriptan, a drug which works …  Lire la suite

We examine the following traffic model. There is a network of users who wish to route traffic to their destinations as quickly as possible. Each edge in the network has a load-dependent function specifying the delay experienced by traffic using that network link. In an optimal routing scheme the total latency incurred by all the network users is minimized. However, when users are free to route traffic according to their own interests the network traffic converges to a selfishly defined traffic assignment which can be more costly than the optimal solution. The following question then arises; how much deterioration in …  Lire la suite

Normal and diseased human tissues were analyzed for the expression of genes of the carcinoembryonic (CEA) family. The use of portions of the CEA and NCA cDNA clones as hybridization probes has shown the existence of CEA and NCA transcripts in colon mucosa, NCA transcripts in breast tumours, and NCA and a third CEA-like transcript (CGM6) in chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) cells. A library prepared from CML cells was used to isolate a cDNA clone of CGM6. The predicted product of this novel CEA family member displays 85% sequence similarity to CEA and NCA and its expression is limited to …  Lire la suite

Waters, Kristian (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

From the Enlightenment to the Romantic period, many writers transformed Christianity into a religion of temporal salvation. Whether they manifest, in their writings, a will to destroy it (Voltaire, Helvetius, d'Holbach, etc.) or to surpass it (Leroux, Lamennais, Hugo, etc.), all refer to its dogmas as a paradigm of argumentation from which they suggest a new explanation of the world and, most important, they all propose a transformation of the society. The goal of my thesis is to offer a new analysis of this period that spreads from 1750 to 1848. In my hypothesis, I stipulate that before 1789, the …  Lire la suite

The purpose of the research paper is to study and analyze the criticism expressed by Montaigne on different doxic themes that pervade the social discourse of his time. To do so, we consider two problems connected and coextensive to the second part of the XVI century. The first one that extends over the first two chapters analyzes the way by which the religious wars of the era have found their justification in God. In the first chapter, we try to analyze the discursive vector of the divine ire whereas in the second chapter, we investigate the relationship between the tide …  Lire la suite

Ryan, Charlene (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

It has long been known that the propagation of radio-frequency power along an open-wire transmission line leads inevitably to some spurious radiation. In the case of a resonant transmission line this radiation seriously affects the Q or selectivity of the circuit. [...]  Lire la suite

Maupassant's writings suggest that the monde, demi-monde and brothels, usually conceived as entirely different universes, resemble each other. They are imperfect copies, which can be mistaken for one another. The characters moving in these worlds are essentially false, hypocritical and superficial beings, prisoners of a role which forces them to play a comedy in society. Some adopt to perfection the values and conventions attached to their role, to the extent of no longer differentiating the true from the false, and forgetting their identity. As the distinction between appearances and reality disappears, the boundaries between the milieux become unclear. Do they …  Lire la suite

Mussbacher, Gunter (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Evans, Alan C. (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

The objective of this study was to investigate K, Ca, and Mg immobilization in the stem of species typical of the hardwood forest of southern Quebec. The species examined included American basswood, sugar maple, and white ash from a rich site, and American beech, red oak, and red maple from a poor site. Firstly, rates of immobilization were evaluated over a time span of 40 years. Higher rates of immobilization in the wood only were generally observed on the rich site. Sugar maple immobilized Ca at an elevated rate during 1978--1997, in comparison to the other species on site. In …  Lire la suite

De Mori, Renato (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

La région néotropicale abrite la majeure partie de la biodiversité mondiale, mais connaît un taux élevé d'extinction d'espèces, principalement en raison de la destruction de l'habitat et du changement climatique. Malheureusement, notre connaissance de la diversité tropicale est encore très limitée et les petits organismes constituent l'essentiel de cette diversité inconnue. La famille des Agromyzidae (ordre des diptères), communément appelée mouche mineuse, comprend près de 3200 espèces, réparties dans le monde entier mais dont la plupart sont décrites dans les régions néarctique et paléarctique. Ces mouches peuvent être économiquement importantes, mais elles sont petites et difficiles à identifier. La région …  Lire la suite

The diversity and zoogeography of Diptera (Brachycera) of disjunct xeric grasslands in the southern Yukon were studied. Over 20,000 flies were collected representing 32 families and 213 species. In terms of abundance, the predacious guild dominated (54% of total specimens) due mostly to the family Chamaemyiidae which represented 45% of all specimens. In terms of diversity, the phytophagous and parasitoid guilds were dominant (25.5% of total species each). The most diverse families were Agromyzidae (32 species), Chloropidae (31 species), Tachinidae (23 species) and Pipunculidae (20 species). Thirty-four undescribed species were collected and 58 species were recorded for the first time …  Lire la suite

In this dissertation, I deploy film studies' lexicon and concepts to imagine law cinematically and I advance a critical legal pluralist hypothesis to imagine film as law. The central element of this study is the rule-governed interactions between street-involved people and their interlocutors; these interactions I consider as one instantiation of a plurality of rule-governed interactions that constitute 'street law'. I organize my research around three themes. First, the sites of street law (where governance of and by street-involved people is constituted). Second, the sights of street law (how it is we perceive the multiple normative matrices that govern interactions …  Lire la suite

Flannery O’Connor famously noted that the problem for an American writer is “one of finding something that is not grotesque.” This thesis investigates the lineage of the grotesque as a narrative mode of characterization that is pervasive in a line of American short story writing. That narrative mode centers on a diverse range of characters who develop an aspiration, only to meet obstacles to its development or expression, and who are then confronted with their own failings. Their aspirational failures lead to a perverse turning inward of the initial impulse—which can then erupt in grotesque bodily somatizations. The purpose of …  Lire la suite

Les pressions exercées par l'étalement urbain ainsi que la croissance démographique mènent à un empiètement sur les territoires agricoles à travers le monde. Cependant, il existe d'autres facteurs d'urbanisation susceptibles de pouvoir transformer l'utilisation de terres agricoles. En effet, la proximité de productions agricoles avec les marchés fonciers ainsi que les flux migratoires des zones rurales vers les zones urbaines représentent des liens urbains-ruraux complexes. A l'échelle globale, on remarque le peu de recherche sur les effets potentiels des liens urbains-ruraux sur les pratiques agricoles. Cette étude porte plus particulièrement sur les liens urbains-ruraux ainsi que leur relation éventuelle avec …  Lire la suite

The thesis specifies how Franz Brentano inspired some of his students and how those students, in their turn, influenced the next generation of psychologists. After outlining the essentials of Aristotle's psychology, the thesis explains some general positions that Brentano borrowed from Aristotle. It goes on to relate Brentano's concepts of 'presentation,' 'unity of consciousness,' and 'difference between the mental and physical,' as well as his call for a 'science of the mind' to ideas of Christian von Ehrenfels, Carl Stumpf and Alexius Meinong. Ehrenfels thought that a mental element, which he named gestalt quality, explains why a string of presentations …  Lire la suite

In this thesis, the use of inhomogeneity corrections in intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) inverse treatment planning is investigated. Firstly, the dosimetric consequences of CT beam hardening artifacts present on images used for treatment planning are estimated and found to be of little clinical significance (<1% dose difference). Secondly, experiments to evaluate the PEREGRINE Monte Carlo system (Nomos, Cranberry, PA) are undertaken for a 6 MV photon beam. The use of inhomogeneity corrections in clinical treatment planning is assessed for five clinical head and neck cancer cases. The cases are planned with the CORVUS optimization module and the dose distributions are …  Lire la suite

The technique of ion transfer in radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) systems is described. Computer simulations of the gas filled RFQ mass filter system located at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in Argonne, Il. are performed and compared to data obtained from the transfer of radioactive ions produced from the fragmentation of an off-line 252Cf fission source put before the system. The device is used to transport radionuclides created in on-line fusion evaporation reactions from a 150 torr helium filled gas cell to a high vacuum mass spectrometer. Operation parameters and performance results for the gas filled RFQ mass filter system are …  Lire la suite

Cell migration is an important biological phenomenon involved in many homeostatic and aberrant physiological processes. Understanding the underpinnings of such processes provide insight into potential methods of therapeutic perturbation. Here, we have shown that phosphorylation of serine 273 of a key cell-matrix adhesion protein, paxillin, binds to a GIT1-βPIX-PAK1 protein complex and promotes a highly motile cellular phenotype with small cell-matrix adhesions that assemble and disassemble rapidly. We proceed to show by means of autocorrelative imaging methods, that the molecular binding/unbinding of paxillin and its binding partners to cell-matrix adhesion complexes are more dynamic when S273 is phosphorylated and the …  Lire la suite

This thesis studies adaptive filters for the case in which the main input signal is not synchronized with the reference signal. The asynchrony is modelled by a time-varying delay. This delay has to be estimated and compensated. This is accomplished by designing and investigating joint delay estimation and adaptive filtering algorithms. First, joint maximum likelihood estimator is derived for input Gaussian signals. It is used to define a readily implementable joint estimator, composed of an adaptive delay element and an adaptive filter. Next, two estimation criteria are investigated with that structure. The minimum mean squared error criterion is used with …  Lire la suite

Apoptosis is a phenomenon conserved from flies to humans, crucial in development and in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Throughout the years various molecules have been identified as critical regulators of apoptotic signaling. Among these, the serine/threonine kinase Akt has been demonstrated to play a pivotal role in the regulation of cell survival by phosphorylating a broad range of effectors. This thesis looks at the regulation of anti and pro-apototic Akt substrates, and examines the survival-promoting activity of Akt in neural tumor cells and neurons. In the first section of this thesis I demonstrated, using a recombinant adenovirus-based approach, that …  Lire la suite

L'imagerie par transfert d'aimantation quantitative (qMT) est une technique d'imagerie par résonance magnétique (IRM) qui s'est avérée très prometteuse pour la recherche sur la sclérose en plaques (SEP). qMT améliore l'IRM conventionnelle en sondant les macromolécules présentes dans la myéline, fournissant ainsi une quantité nommée le rapport taille de réservoirs, qui est fortement corrélée avec la concentration de la myéline dans la substance blanche du cerveau. qMT nécessite plusieurs autres cartes d'IRM quantitatives à des fins d'étalonnage : le champ magnétique principal (B0), l'amplitude du champ magnétique variable (B1) et le temps de relaxation longitudinal (T1). Ces cartes peuvent également …  Lire la suite

The lack of information about the interaction of metal mixtures in soils encouraged us to improve the knowledge on the toxicity of mixtures of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn). Risk assessors estimate the concentration of trace metals that poses a threat to environmental and human health. But the effects of the metal mixture are not as well understood as individual metals. The overall goal of this thesis is to test the effects of Cu, Ni and Zn in single, binary, and tertiary combinations using barley (Hordeum vulgare). The first objective was to determine the effects concentrations resulting in …  Lire la suite

This study investigated the components of an adapted physical activity program perceived to be successful from multiple perspectives, those being the adolescents, the instructors, and the parents. Their personal experiences and interpretations were ascertained by interviews, and field observations. The literature review involved arguments from topics such as individuals with disabilities and physical activity, research in sport and recreation programs, research gaps in the study of APA programs, program success and program components, instructors and training, and intervention models. Evidence-based practice was the main theoretical framework that guided this study. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) confirmed that the Aqua Percept …  Lire la suite

The essence of Sabato's characters is that they are basically engulfed in time. In them, the author makes clear the tragic-comic duality which exists in Man: his desire for eternity and the awareness of his mortality. It is with respect to this duality that we have examined in this thesis the question of time and esentially the aspects of time as revealed through the notions of chronological and psychological time and finally the annulment of time as a metaphysical concept. These three juxtaposed notions of time ultimately objectify a world which opens into the mythical. In this world where the …  Lire la suite