McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par N

Studies of the use of enzymes to both produce and degrade polyhydroxyalkanotes (PHAs) under in vitro conditions are presented in this thesis. PHAs were produced using a lipase-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of the corresponding lactones. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), PHB, was obtained in up to 89% yield with a degree of polymerization of 3--12. Polymerization of other lactones, including beta-propiolactone, gamma-butyrolactone, and e -caprolactone, also yielded the corresponding polyesters in good yields with degrees of polymerization up to 25. MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy was used to characterize the polymer products. The growth and kinetics of PHB granules produced in an in vitro polymerization were studied …  Lire la suite

Le but de cette étude était de comparer la dépense énergétique ainsi que le V02max sur la glace et sur un tapis roulant con<;u pour patiner. Des joueurs d'une équipe masculine universitaire de hockey (n = 15, âge 21.0 ans) ont effecctué une épreuve de patinage sur un tapis roulant et sur la glace. Les sujets ont patine durant quatre minutes à chacune des trois vitesses sous-maximales (18, 20 et 22 km·h-1), entrecoupées de cinq minutes de récupération passive. Suite à l'épreuve de patinage sous-maximale, un test pour évaluer le V02max était réalisé. Celui-ci débutait à une vélocité de 24 …  Lire la suite

We present a multi-wavelength perspective of star-forming galaxies within high-redshift galaxy clusters. The clusters derive from the Red-sequence Cluster Survey (RCS) and the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-sequence Cluster Survey (SpARCS), and possess ample spectroscopic coverage, yielding numerous confirmed cluster members. This thesis consists of a collection of distinct but related works, focusing on environmental effects within the dense regions of clusters---some of the rarest structures in the Universe. We exploit the high sensitivities of cutting-edge infrared and submillimeter telescopes to glean the wealth of information encoded within the thermal portion of the spectral energy distribution, including infrared luminosities and …  Lire la suite

Nous présentons ici un relevé sub-millimétrique de sept amas de galaxies à haute redshift, ayant tous une richesse et un redshift similaire. Ce relevé provient du Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS) pris avec le Submillimeter Common-User Bolometric Array (SCUBA) aux longueurs d'ondes de 850 et 450 micromètres. L'échantillon comprend trois amas de galaxies qui montrent des arcs optiques prononcés et inattendus due à un effet de lentille gravitationnelle forte, et comprend aussi un groupe contrôle de quatre amas n'ayant pas d'effet de lentille apparent. Des observations supplémentaires dans les ondes radio, infrarouge moyennes, optiques et dans les rayons X, permettent l'identification …  Lire la suite

Objective. To develop predictive models for positive outcomes of upper and lower endoscopies in children. Methods. Retrospective review of all endoscopies performed from January to December, 2000 at St. Justine Hospital. Predictive models for positive outcomes on endoscopy were constructed for upper and lower endoscopies separately using multiple logistic regression. Results. Age greater than 13 years, hematemesis, epigastric tenderness and hypoalbuminemia were significant predictors of positive upper endoscopies. Male sex, age and rectal bleeding were significant predictors of positive lower endoscopies. Both models were significant at p < 0.0001 yet their receiver operating curves indicated that a model with sensitivity …  Lire la suite

Les polarimètres millimétriques peuvent désormais atteindre des performances limitées par le comptage de photons. Pour augmenter la sensibilité des observatoires modernes de rayonnement cosmologique fossile (RCF) au sol, le nombre de détecteurs indépendants doit augmenter. Ceci représente un défi majeur pour la calibration instrumentale. Les méthodes d’étalonnage traditionnelles ne sont pas adaptées au nombre de détecteurs. Ils nécessitent des observations dédiées qui ne peuvent pas être effectuées en parallèle. Cet oeuvre présente une méthode d’étalonnage alternative: le RCF est utilisé comme source d’étalonnage. Les détecteurs individuels sont calibrés en utilisant la réponse d’autres détecteurs en tant que modèle. Cette approche …  Lire la suite

Harman, Christopher (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current kinship initiative within the field of Child Welfare in Ontario by reviewing its history and exploring any obstacles that may be preventing the support of this program. Key themes that were derived from the data include economic, policy and legislative barriers to permanency and workplace culture creating barriers. Recommendations include the support of specialized kinship workers and assessors, increased funding to support this model and kinship service families, centralized government services and a more universal direction from the Ministry regarding service delivery. Implications for social work practice, policy and further …  Lire la suite

Le monde connaît actuellement des niveaux de déplacement sans précédent. Alors que la plupart de ceux qui sont déplacés le deviennent à l'intérieur de leur propre pays, nous avons enregistré un nombre record de 26 millions réfugiés et 4,2 millions demandeurs d’asile rien qu'en 2019. Bien que la réponse du gouvernement canadien ait été admirable, il est également possible que le système d'immigration même expose les réfugiés à des préjudices additionnels. On dit d'une personne qu'elle subit une injustice épistémique lorsqu'elle est lésée dans sa capacité de connaisseur. Ces injustices peuvent découler des préjugés d'un auditeur ou d'un manque de …  Lire la suite

Les illusions positives sont des perceptions de soi et de sa compétence systématiquement gonflées, et sont souvent observées dans les domaines de grande difficulté. Bien que ces illusions aient été abondamment documentées chez les enfants et les adultes, la trajectoire de développement reste peu évidente. Cette étude a enquêté sur la liaison entre les illusions positives et la symptomatologie dépressive et le stress scolaire dans un échantillon de 78 adolescents typiques. Les adolescents qui performaient légèrement en-dessous de la moyenne en mathématique ont surestimé leur performance, mais les adolescents n'ont pas surestimé leur exécution en orthographe. Les illusions positives en …  Lire la suite

Relationships with their teachers are a central component of a student’s school environment, and have been shown to be related to school engagement and persistence in secondary school. Likewise, parents play a critical role in influencing their children’s beliefs and behaviour towards school. Working alliance is a conceptualization of professional relationships that emphasizes not only the emotional bond between a professional and their client, but also their collaboration on the goals and tasks of their work together. While this theory has garnered considerable support in the fields of counselling and healthcare, working alliance has only recently begun to be investigated …  Lire la suite

En se fondant sur le 1971 filme (nostalgia) de Hollis Frampton, cette thèse s'emploie à nier la domination de concepts au-dessus de l'œuvre d'art. Ce sera fait en pensant avec (nostalgia), plutôt que d'y penser comme objet. En d'autres mots, (nostalgia) sera une logique motif pour lesquels les concepts doivent prouver eux-mêmes. La forme même du film permettra de déterminer la manière dont les concepts se développe. Cette thèse cherche à comprendre (nostalgia) non pas par l'analyse de l'extérieur de son propre but immanent, mais à travers une analyse imitatif. En utilisant cette méthode, les textes de Theodor Adorno, Roland …  Lire la suite

This thesis examines the association between ethnic relations, ethnic cohesion and economic activities in Punta Arenas, Chile, a city inhabited by immigrants from Europe, Central Chile and Chiloe and their descendants over the last century. Through the historical study of changing ethnic interaction in economic activities, marriage and social institutions in the city, of the organization of each of twelve ethnic collectivities, and the analysis of occupational and marital data on nearly seven thousand individuals we demonstrate that the concept of ethnicity (a) can be used to promote inter-class solidarity within the ethnic collectivity, leading to ethnic cohesion; (b) can …  Lire la suite

La morphogénèse épithéliale est à la base de nombreux procédés biologiques essentiels au développement d’un organisme. Le remodelage global du tissue épithélial est souvent la conséquence d’un changement de forme au niveau des cellules individuelles. Une des forces qui joue un rôle moteur dans un tel changement est localisée dans l’activité contractile du réseau d’actomyosine. Des mécanismes en amont génèrent des réponses cellulaires qui agissent comme signaux permettant le positionnement de cette contractilité localisée. Cependant, comment cette information spatiale est transmise en changement dans le cytosquelette reste obscure.La molécule d’adhésion cellulaire à liaison homophile Echinoid (Ed) a été démontrée d’agir …  Lire la suite

Scholars have analyzed the Galician-Portuguese lyrical poetry from two opposing points of view. Some investigators posit a formal and thematic identity between the cantigas de amigo and the cantigas de amor. Others believe that there exists a conceptual and aesthetic opposition between the two genres, contending that the cantigas de amigo are indigenous and folk-inspired, whereas the cantigas de amor are mere imitations of the Provençal lyrical songs.In the present study we demonstrate that the cantigas have some common distinctive features (formal and conceptual parallelism, elegiac tone, lack of narrative development) which renders them unmistakably different from the rest of …  Lire la suite

In this study the dramatic and novelistic aspects of Galaico-Portuguese poetry are analysed. We point out the dramatic tendency of the cantigas showing that the troubadours and jougleurs grouped together a certain number of cantigas with a dramatic purpose. This is demonstrated by the 12 cantigas with which Lopo L(')ias has created a satirical play, which we have entitled Os Zevroes, and which will be studied in the last chapter of this study. Secondly, the narrative and thematic structures of some 1.150 love songs are analysed. In this case, the cantigas de amigo and the cantigas de amor are seen …  Lire la suite

Detailed sequence stratigraphic analyses indicate that the lower Cretaceous Falher F unit is made up of 4 sandy/pebbly prograding parasequences labeled F1, F2, F3, and F4. Of the parasequences only F3 has a significant (>2m) thickness of conglomerate. Vertical lithological successions through a conglomeratic section suggest that the F3 pebbles were deposited on the upper shoreface and foreshore as part of a conformable, shoaling-upwards package of rocks. Detailed mapping, using core, well logs, production data and 3-D seismic, show that the conglomerates form a 4 km wide linear body deposited along a linear topographic trend. This topographic trend coincides with …  Lire la suite

Three species of photosynthetic flagellates capable of phagotrophy (mixotrophic species) were tested for their abilities to use inorganic iron colloids for growth. Ochromonas sp., Chrysochromulina ericina (a coastal strain) and C. ericina (an oceanic strain) were grown in iron-free seawater supplemented with 1 muM goethite, hematite, magnetite/maghemite or ferrihydrite (90°) in the presence and absence of desferrioxamme B, an iron-binding siderophore. Both strains of Chrysochromulina grew at 35--70% of their maximum rates with goethite, hematite, and magnetite/maghemite, but were unable to use ferrihydrite. Ochromonas, however, grew well with ferrihydrite, but could not use any of the other forms. All the …  Lire la suite

This master's thesis deals with the reification, or transformation into objects, of the female characters in Michel Butor's La Modification. It is our contention that the two female characters, Henriette and Cecile, function not as characters, but as objects: they are unable to take up subject positions, and they have the same roles as the other inanimate objects in Butor's work. The critical analysis is based in part on existentialist, psychoanalytic, and poststructuralist theories of subjectivity, as well as feminist rereadings of these theories. We have also used several critical and theoretical works on the object in the "Nouveau Roman", …  Lire la suite

Previous work demonstrated that influx of (2-chloroethyl)-1-sarcosinamide-1-nitrosourea (SarCNU) may be altered from the known influx of clinically available chloroethylnitrosoureas which occurs through passive diffusion. The objective of this thesis was to determine the exact mode of influx of SarCNU into human glioma cell lines SK-MG-1 and SKI-1 which are sensitive and resistant to SarCNU, respectively. The influx of SarCNU into SK-MG-1 cells was shown to be mediated by a saturable, energy and sodium independent epinephrine sensitive carrier system. Analysis of influx of SarCNU into SKI-1 cells demonstrated a technically non-saturable mechanism of entry consistent with passive diffusion. Steady-state accumulation of …  Lire la suite

Superoxide dismutases (SODs) are the first line of defense against the potential damage from oxygen free radicals. The importance of SODs is highlighted by the expression of at least one SOD in most organisms today. SODs catalyze the dismutation, or removal, of superoxide (O2•–), by converting it into hydrogen peroxide and oxygen. This thesis focuses on a reaction that competes with superoxide dismutation – the formation of peroxynitrite by the reaction of superoxide with nitric oxide (NO•). The spontaneous reaction of superoxide with nitric oxide occurs 3 times faster than the dismutation of superoxide by SODs. Although superoxide has historically …  Lire la suite

Cette recherche analyse la gestion quotidienne de trois presidents observes continuellement durant un mois chacun, selon la methodologie de lfobservation-participante. Suite aux recherches de Levinson (1972) et de Kets *?.e Vries (1980), l’approche privilegiee est clinique. La demarche est interpretative et se situe dans le courant des travaux de Freud (1926a), Geertz (1973) et Kets de Vries (1984a): les reactions de transfert et de contre-transfert sont utilisees comme outils de cueillette et dfinterpretation. Les actions quotidiennes des presidents sont analysees a l!aide du modele de Politiques Generales propose par Andrews (revise 1980). L’utilisation empirique de ses reflexions nous mene a …  Lire la suite

Cette étude se propose de faire une lecture croisée entre la mémoire et le déplacement dans trois romans de Milan Kundera dont les personnages sont des exilés (Le livre du rire et de l'oubli, L'insoutenable légèreté de l'être et L'Ignorance). Notre hypothèse est que le déplacement s'accompagne chez les exilés d'un changement dans leur façon de se souvenir du passé : ne pouvant plus compter sur la mémoire linéaire (propre au régime moderne d'historicité) pour conserver un lien avec un passé dont ils sont spatialement séparés, ils recourent à ce que nous proposons de définir comme un nouveau type de …  Lire la suite

This thesis demonstrates how the weaknesses of security sector reforms (SSR) in Central America have contributed to current high levels of violence in the region. Weak SSR processes have failed to transform the provision of public security into inclusive services. Public security is an excludable service because it tends to be provided to a few, leaving others without the benefits of the service. The excludability of public security can, as a consequence, be used in conflicts among citizens and fuel further violence. Also, the excludability of public security negatively affects the level of trust of the population towards policing forces …  Lire la suite

Gabriel Christie (1722-1799), a British military officer, acquired a vast estate in Quebec after the Seven Years war, including five timber-rich seigneuries in the Upper Richelieu Valley, our study area. These were inherited by two of his sons in succession: Napier Christie Burton (1758-1835) and William Plenderleath Christie (1780-1845). An examination of the available deeds of concession for our study area shows the legal framework of the tenure and the seigneurs' survey and land granting policies. Seigneurial rents increased between 1785 and 1820, but it was the accumulation of seigneurial arrears, followed by strict collection practices after 1835, which contributed …  Lire la suite

Le nombre de choix d'un graphe G, noté ch(G), est le plus petit entier k tel que pour toute affectation de listes de taille k au sommets de G, il y a une coloration de G tel que chaque sommet de G est coloré par une couleur de sa liste. En général, le nombre de choix n'est pas borné supérieurement par une fonction du nombre chromatique.Dans cette thèse, nous démontrons une conjecture de Ohba qui affirme que ch(G) =χ(G) dès que |V (G)| ≤ 2χ(G) + 1. Nous démontrons aussi une version plus forte de la conjecture de Ohba qui …  Lire la suite

The zinc cluster family of fungal regulatory proteins shares a DNA binding motif that contains six highly conserved cysteines residues. Many of the zinc cluster proteins have been shown to bind as homodimers to target DNA sequences containing a pair of CGG triplets, with each monomer recognizing a triplet. Orientation and spacing between the CGG triplets specify the recognition sequences for a given zinc cluster. For example, Gal4p, involved in galactose metabolism, recognizes CGG triplets, oriented as a palindrome, or inverted repeat, spaced by 11 base pairs (bp) (CGG N11 CCG). The spacing is specific enough so that a change …  Lire la suite

Papenburg, Jesse (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

La précipitation des composés insolubles de l'arsenic à partir de solution aqueuse est une option pour la stabilisation de résidus ayant une concentration élevée d'arsenic. Cette étude vise à déterminer la pertinence d'utiliser l'apatite svabite (Ca5(AsO4)3F) et des solides composés de svabite et de fluorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3F) pour l'entreposage à long terme de l'arsenic. Cette étude comprend le développement d'une procédure de synthèse pour la précipitation des composés en milieu aqueux et des essais préliminaires de stabilité des solides qui en découlent afin d'établir la quantité d'arsenic relâchée sous différentes conditions d'équilibration. La gamme opératoire des précipitations fut étudiée en variant …  Lire la suite

A combination of DGPS/GIS mapping, invertebrate surveys and environmental monitoring over one year (July 2004--July 2005) were used to examine the recovery of permanent tidal pools on a salt marsh in the lower Bay of Fundy which underwent an unmanaged restoration after breach of the dyke over 50 years ago. The results are compared to those of a nearby relatively undisturbed reference marsh. Pools were found to represent a substantial portion of the marsh habitat, comprising 13% of the total marsh area in the recovering marsh and 4.8% in the natural marsh. Observations indicate ice may be an important mechanism …  Lire la suite

"The aim of this dissertation is to examine and analyse the law pertaining to aircraft accident investigation in the international context, and to indicate areas where it is possible to have further international agreement in this important field of the law pertaining to international civil aviation. Since air navigation is essentially international in character, any approach to a study in this field necessarily involves references to national legal systems, and to that extent, involves a study in comparative law. [...]"@eng  Lire la suite

La technique de perfusion de foie de rat avec un milieu artificiel a été utilisée pour étudier l'incorporation d'un acide aminé dans la portion protéique des lipoprotéines. La sécrétion des VLDL est de 6 à 10 fois plus grande que celle des HDL. Les LDL ne sont pas sécrétés comme tels. La distribution de la radioactivité dans chaque peptide des VLDL et des HDL est différente. Les VLDL contiennent 3 principaux constituants correspondant chez l'homme a apoB, "Arginine-rich peptide" et apoC. Par contre, les HDL ne contiennent que 2 constituants principaux correspondant à "Arginine-rich peptide" et apoA. Un modèle in …  Lire la suite

Long, Thavy (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Using regime theory, we consider in this thesis whether there is evidence of the gradual establishment of norms, principles, rules and regulations governing donor policies with regards to linking foreign aid to human rights practices. We hypothesize that, despite the constraints caused by the multiplicity of foreign policy objectives for any given donor, there is evidence of a developing human rights regime in the foreign aid policies and practices of donors of aid. Using a historical approach, we study the aid policies and practices of two international organizations (the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and …  Lire la suite

This thesis seeks to elucidate the connections between an individual's quotidian sensory experiences of landscapes and their understanding of the ecological relationships that they are embedded within. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the historic mining city of Potosí, Bolivia, I suggest that, contrary to popular discourses that have portrayed cooperative miners as having little to no regard for the environment, miners see the extraction of minerals from the earth as an act that requires the repatriation of vitality to the supernatural owners of the mountain. The understanding that mining both is and requires sacrifice is shown to serve as …  Lire la suite

Market demand for housing changes over time, in response to the wants and needs of both individuals and society. Changes in socio-demographics highlight the emergence of non-traditional households in Canada and influence the configuration of a house (or product) which meets buyers' individual requirements. In turn, this affects the design approach (or process). At the same time, society today requires sustainability in housing development, since building a house consumes large amounts of energy during construction and after occupancy. Technology that improves the cost and performance of housing has advanced over time. Although some innovative design and construction systems (or approaches) …  Lire la suite

Traditionnellement, les simulations géostatistiques des gisements minéraux sont effectuées en utilisant des méthodes fondées sur les statistiques spatiales utilisant deux points, comme les variogrammes par exemple. Toutefois, les statistiques spatiales du second ordre ne sont pas suffisantes pour capturer les caractéristiques essentielles et communes des gisements minéraux telles que la connectivité des valeurs extrêmes et les motifs curvilignes, caractéristiques qui ont un impact sur la planification des opérations et de la production de la mine. Pour pallier à ces importantes limitations, les méthodes de simulation à points multiples ont été développées.Ce mémoire décrit d'une façon détaillée une méthode de simulation …  Lire la suite

Alors que l’on enregistre une hausse des actions industrielles à caractère inter-catégoriel, provisoire, décentralisé et remontant, qui s’apparentent ainsi de plus en plus à des mouvements sociaux, la littérature industrielle et gestionnaire continue à les présenter sous les seuls angles institutionnel et bureaucratique en omettant la nature évolutive et multi-scalaire de la conflictualité au travail. En outre, les chercheurs prennent insuffisamment en compte les changements du travail même, en particulier l’expansion du travail intellectuel et la multiplication corrélative des domaines d’expertise et des communautés de pratiques ; d’où un manque de théorie quant au processus de mobilisation, de maintenance et …  Lire la suite

Humoral immune function was studied in surgical patients. The antibody response to vaccination with a protein antigen, tetanus toxoid (TT), was reduced among all patients, especially those with reduced delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) and increased degree of physiological derangement. The antibody response to a polysaccharide antigen, pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPS), was normal. In trauma patients, the antibody response to TT was normal. The in vitro production of specific and total immunoglobulin (Ig) by blood mononuclear cells was studied. Patients that failed to produce a serum antibody response to TT also failed to produce anti-TT in vitro. Anti-PPS production was normal. More …  Lire la suite

The developmental origins of disease theory hypothesizes that the fetus makes physiological adaptations in response to changes in its environment to prepare itself for postnatal life. In utero programming by diet (protein restriction), or physiology (hypertension) increases cardiovascular disease in adults. Fetal testes secrete testosterone and fetal hearts express androgen receptors leading to the idea that the fetal heart could respond to testosterone programming. We hypothesize that the adult female progeny of testosterone-treated pregnant mice will be programmed and display differences in cardiac structure and function.Pregnant C57Bl/6n mice were injected subcutaneously with vehicle (peanut oil) or testosterone propionate (TP) during …  Lire la suite

Lifestyle and dietary predictors of total fat intake (%kcal) were examined, to identify groups potentially at risk of hypercholesterolemia. In 1987, 301 Montreal adults were sampled by random digit dialing. A diet history and lifestyle habits were recorded. Mean total fat intake (%kcal) was 34.75% ($ pm$6.23). Principal Components Analysis identified specific dietary patterns. Regression analyses indicated that the first 4 food factors were associated with total fat intake (%kcal p $<$ 0.01). Household size was inversely related to total fat (%kcal); 0.8% less kcal from fat for each additional member of the household (p $<$ 0.01). Females had 2.8% …  Lire la suite

Le sillon frontal inférieur (sfi) est un repère anatomique proéminent du cortex préfrontal latéral, séparant les gyri frontaux moyen et inférieur chez l’humain et le chimpanzé (Pan troglodytes). Dorsalement au sfi se trouvent des aires corticales impliquées dans la surveillance de l’information en mémoire de travail et dans l’allocation conditionnelle de l’attention, tandis que ventralement se situe la région de Broca, essentielle à la production de la parole dans l’hémisphère dominant pour le langage chez l’humain. Chez les deux espèces, la morphologie du sfi varie entre individus et peut être difficile à distinguer des sillons adjacents. De plus, la relation …  Lire la suite

Children with chronic illnesses have a doubled risk of developing psychosocial maladjustment--emotional problems, behavior disorder or difficulties in social relationships. Social work support and counselling aims to reduce this secondary morbidity, and is a common form of hospital-based psychosocial service. The first randomized controlled trial of this type of intervention was carried out to evaluate its effectiveness in treating and preventing maladjustment. This thesis describes how child behavior outcomes were assessed before and 4 months after a 6 month period of social worker assistance in 173 children randomized to intervention, and in 169 controls, all with chronic illnesses. No significant …  Lire la suite