McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par O

We characterize various complexity classes as the images in set$ sp2,$ set$ sp{V},$ and set$ sp3$ of categories initial in various complexity doctrines. (A doctrine consists of the models of a theory of theories.) We so characterize the linear time, P space, linear space, P time, and Kalmar elementary functions as well as the linear time hierarchy relations. (Our machine model is multi-tape Turing machines with constant number of tapes.) These doctrines extend, using comprehensions, the first order doctrines GM and JB. We show, using dependent product diagrams, how to so extend the higher order doctrine LCC. However, using Church …  Lire la suite

Cette thèse traite la représentation de Philon d’Alexandrie par rapport à la judéité dans les œuvres de Clément, Origène et Eusèbe, les trois premiers chrétiens à le mentionner explicitement dans leurs écrits existants. Aucun des premiers lecteurs de Philon chrétiens l’appellent ouvertement un juif. Grâce à une lecture détaillée de leurs descriptions de Philon et sa relation à la Bible hébraïque, le judaïsme contemporain et la tradition philosophique de Pythagore-platonicienne, je démontre les identités diverses qu’attribuent Clément, Origène et Eusèbe à Philo. Je soutiens que, malgré la compréhension supérieure des écritures hébraïques et le mode de vie de Philo étaient …  Lire la suite

Aitken, Ellen (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

An on-line beam to target portal verification technique has been developed for stereotactic radiosurgery. Conventional radiosurgery employs a stereotactic frame in order to obtain sufficient spatial accuracy in dose delivery. Frame based verification methods attempt to ensure accurate target positioning with respect to the frame but they do not account for possible movement of the frame with respect to the anatomy and isocenter. We account for this possibility by superimposing digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) over orthogonal edge detected digital portal image pairs. By developing a process for interactively manipulating the CT-data in three dimensions (rotations and translations) new DRRs are …  Lire la suite

La diffraction ultrarapide par électrons avec compression radio-fréquence est une technique expérimentale capable d’intérroger la structure évolutive de la matière, avec une résolution temporelle sous une picoseconde. Cette thèse d'écrit une approche nouvelle de synchronisation haute-performance entre laser et système électronique radio-fréquence. Cette technique enjoint la génération directe du signal de compression à partir d’un peigne de fréquence avec phase stabilisée. Le peigne de fréquence est produit par photo-détection directe d’un train d’impulsions laser ultrarapides et le signal approprié est filtré puis conditionné dans un système radio-fréquence à niveau de bruit ultra-faible. Ce système de synchronisation, combiné à un système …  Lire la suite

The beginning of our knowledge of the enzyme lactic dehydrogenase, dates back to Otto Meyerhof's discovery (1) in 1919, that washed muscle preparations can oxidise lactic acid. The enzyme was obtained in soluble form by Stephenson (2) in 1928, from cultures of E. coli, and Bernheim (3) prepared a similar extract from yeast and identified pyruvic acid as the product of the reaction. [...]  Lire la suite

With the outbreak of World War II, work was initiated in the Department ot Biochemistry at McGill University, at the request of the National Research Council, under the direction of Dr. O. F. Denstedt, with the express aim of improving the existing methods of blood preservation. Because of the great importance of maintaining a supply of blood for the treatment of battle and civilian casualties, researches on blood preservation were carried out not only in this laboratory, but in many others throughout the world.  Lire la suite

ContexteLa nourriture est essentielle pour tous, servant de source de subsistance, d’indulgence occasionnelle et de moyen de définir son identité culturelle. Une alimentation appropriée est un droit fondamental pour chaque enfant. Les expériences alimentaires des enfants influencent leur compréhension d’eux-mêmes et de leur environnement, impactant leurs besoins nutritionnels. Comprendre les expériences alimentaires des enfants ayant des difficultés à avaler et les facteurs qui les influencent est crucial. Le modèle transactionnel de développement de Sameroff, qui met l'accent sur les interactions entre les enfants et leur environnement, souligne l'importance de l’environnement relationnel des enfants, notamment les interactions avec les familles et …  Lire la suite

Cette thèse cherche à explorer le rôle que l'État devrait jouer dans la promotion de la transparence en matière de l'arbitrage entre investisseurs et États fondé sur des traités, tout en adoptant une persective chinois. Après un survol sur le concept de la transparence et les règles d'arbitration connexes dans les règles d'arbitrage UNCITRAL, la convention ICSID, NAFTA et les BIT modèles du Canada et des États-Unis, cette thèse explique les raisons pour lesquelles l'arbitrage des différends relatifs aux traités d'investissement requièrent de la transparence au point de vue de la société civile, des investisseurs et des institutions de résolution …  Lire la suite

Un patron de méthylation anormal, tel que l'hyperméthylation régionale ou l'hypométhylation génomique, modifie la transcription de gènes critiques jouant ainsi un rôle central dans la progression de nombreux cancers chez l'humain. Il est donc devenu essentiel d'identifier les mécanismes responsables de ces altérations afin de développer des traitements pharmacologiques ciblés. Le but principal de cette thèse est d'examiner si certains facteurs cellulaires sont impliqués dans l'établissement de l'ADN hypométhylé des cellules cancéreuses, ainsi que l'effet des changements dans la structure de la chromatine sur la méthylation de l'ADN. Il a été préalablement démontré que la protéine MBD2 possède plusieurs rôles …  Lire la suite

Tramadol and codeine are both weak opioids indicated for the treatment of acute and chronic moderate to moderately severe pain, though their pharmacologic profiles differ substantially. Due to the perceived low risk of abuse of tramadol compared to other opioid, prescriptions for tramadol have increased by 30% in Canada and 65% in the United States over the last decade. Aside from acting on the mu-opioid receptor, tramadol also exerts its analgesic activity through inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine in the central nervous system. Excess amounts of both neurotransmitters can have pro-arrhythmic effects and can stimulate the sympathetic nervous …  Lire la suite

The rediscovery of black phosphorus (black P) and the prediction of blue P as new, non-metallic, and single-element two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have ignited the interest of researchers in these materials for a variety of fields. Originating from the field-effect transistors, multilayer black P has demonstrated great promise in numerous applications, such as photodetectors, photovoltaics, and imaging devices. Recently, 2D black P has also been proven to be a promising candidate for chemical sensing of various common gases using field-effect transistors, due to its large molecular adsorption energy, inherently large surface/volume ratio, and anisotropic electronic properties. However, the candidacy of its …  Lire la suite

A culture system was established for mass rearing of the Russian knapweed nematode, Subanguina picridis (Kirjanova) Brzeski. This system consisted of two parts; a shoot culture system used as the host plant source for the nematode culture, and a monoxenic nematode culture system. The nematode developed and reproduced in this system. Galls were induced on the leaves, stems, and shoot tips of cultured Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens (L.) DC.) shoots. After 3 months in culture, the nematode number per petri dish increased from the initial 50 inoculated to 7,000-10,000, a 140 to 200 fold increase. This study represents the first …  Lire la suite

In recent years, home modification has played an increasingly important role in the housing industry. Expenditures on renovation have consistently exceeded those spent on new home construction during the 1990s. And it has huge potential to continuously increase in the years to come. Renovators' do-it-yourself activities are efficient ways to fulfill homeowners' psychological and physical needs and save expensive labour costs. This research investigates not only the technology evolution of ten products and the installation processes that are frequently used by renovators, but also the fundamental reasons that drive the development of these innovations. It covers the technology from the …  Lire la suite

The assembly and function of neural circuits depend on the patterned outgrowth, guidance and targeting of dendrites into appropriate territories during development. As a hallmark of any neuron, cell type-specific dendrite morphology has a crucial role in determining the sensory or synaptic input a neuron receives. Despite recent advances in exploring the molecular and cellular mechanisms that define dendritic architecture, our understanding of dendrite development is still far from complete. In this thesis research, I have taken a genetic screen approach and a candidate molecule approach to discover novel genes and mechanisms that are involved in dendrite morphogenesis, using Drosophila …  Lire la suite

The notion of cartesian closed bicategory is presented, and use of the resulting entities is made to reinterpret, in a uniform and consistent way, the standard work of Lambek and Scott in categorical proof theory [LS]. (Cartesian closed) bicategories are a two-dimensional analogue, or extension, of (cartesian closed) categories. We study them in quite a bit of detail, carefully showing for instance how all the relevant properties of cartesian closed categories can in fact be naturally lifted to their two-dimensional counterparts. They (cartesian closed bicategories) are also shown to allow for a purely algebraic (inference rules based) definition, being models …  Lire la suite

William Foulkes (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Modern sport helmets have been effective in reducing catastrophic head injuries such as skull fracture and subdural hematoma; yet, the high prevalence of minor traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) is an unresolved public health concern. Consequently, there is a need for greater scrutiny in a helmet's ability to mitigate collision forces that may correspond to mTBI risk. Current safety standards primarily assess a helmet's ability to minimize the whole head's peak acceleration during blunt impacts. Absent are dynamic measures local to the impact site itself due to the technical challenge to spatial map high impact force magnitudes with high temporal resolution. …  Lire la suite

Accurate measurement of joint motion is highly desirable for human gait analysis. Marker based optical motion capture is currently a gold standard in human gait studies but limited to a small field of view, exclusively in a laboratory setting. Where quantitative assessment is needed in the unconstrained environments (eg. factory floor, clinical wards), strain-gauge electrogoniometers provide portable operation and simple measurement of joint angles. These modern electrogoniometers have overcome problems associated with prior generations of fixed axis goniometers. The purpose of this study was to examine the kinematics obtained between the optically based 3D system with strain guage based elgons, …  Lire la suite

The thesis provides a new approach to the codesign of digital systems. Complex systems tend to have mixed hardware-software components and are often subject to severe cost, performance, and design-time constraints. Our approach is to codesign these systems. The codesign approach allows the hardware and software designs to be tightly coupled throughout the design process. We focus on three key problems of system modeling, system analysis and system hardware-software partitioning. A key contribution of the thesis is to use hierarchy as it is available in modeling tools to handle complex system models but also during the codesign process to provide …  Lire la suite

Prostate cancer is a significant public health concern in the United States and globally, causinga substantial number of male deaths each year, ranking second in terms of cancer−relatedmortality. Focal therapy, an emerging approach in prostate cancer treatment, aims to ablatemalignant tissues while preserving the neighboring healthy tissues precisely. Photothermaltherapy holds promise as a focal treatment option for prostate cancer, overcoming thelimitations of conventional therapies through nanoparticle−based approaches. Despite recentadvancements in the development of diverse photothermal agents, further progress is urgentlyrequired in photothermal therapy. These photothermal transducers should possess the abilityto absorb near−infrared (NIR) light and convert it into heat, enabling …  Lire la suite

La recherche est un processus itératif et dynamique qui peut avoir des conséquences profondes sur la société. Ainsi, il est essentiel de maintenir en permanence des normes élevées en matière de recherche. La méta-recherche, ou recherche sur la recherche, a pour objectif de contribuer à cet effort.Même si la méta-recherche est utile pour mettre en lumière les problèmes d’un domaine, elle devrait également informer régulièrement la communauté des biais et des lacunes existants. Pour que la méta-recherche puisse suivre le rythme de la littérature en croissance constante, elle doit être aussi dynamique et itérative que les recherches qu’elle analyse. À …  Lire la suite

La pression grandissante sur les ressources d'eau douce et les écosystèmes aquatiques demande un avancement des connaissances dans le domaine de la gestion durable des bassins versants. En ce sens, de nouveaux cadres conceptuels sont développés et utilisés comme outils pour améliorer la résilience des écosystèmes. Afin d'utiliser ces nouvelles méthodes, des unités (ou groupes) de généralisation des habitats d'eau douces doivent être créés. Idéalement, ces unités devraient être accompagnées de leurs attributs spécifiques permettant leurs classifications stratégiques. De telles unités ont été créées auparavant pour des bassins versants spécifiques ou encore à l'échelle nationale, toutefois, l'échelle globale à haute …  Lire la suite

À l'heure actuelle, les humains s'approprient plus de la moitié des ressources eau renouvelable et accessible de la Terre. Cette forte demande fait pression sur nos ressources hydriques. On estime que 65% du débit mondial est altéré de façon modéré à élevé par des stress anthropiques. Une façon d'atténuer certaines de ces pressions est de développer et d'appliquer des pratiques de gestion durable au sein des systèmes fluviaux. La gestion durable est multidimensionnelle et nécessite souvent de rassembler des informations provenant de diverses disciplines. Pour faire progresser la gestion durable des systèmes fluviaux, nous avons besoin d'informations, de données et …  Lire la suite

La recherche décrite dans ce mémoire est une étude de faisabilité de l'utilisation d'un capteur de mouvement électromagnétique (CMÉM) à 6 degrés de liberté (DDL) - le Razer Hydra – pour implémenter un simulateur de soudure. La composante la plus importante de l'étude était la caractérisation et correction en 6DDL de l'erreur systématique du capteur a l'intérieur d'un volume local. Ceci avait été un défi constant dans la précédente recherche sur la caractérisation de CMÉM parce qu'il est très peu pratique d'amasser des données en 6DDL. Les autres propriétés du système à examiner étaient la distortion causée par la dérive …  Lire la suite

Buehler, Martin (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Among the different theories of translation, the work of critic Antoine Berman is most remarkable. In Pour une critique des traductions: John Donne, published in 1994, Berman suggests, in the segment entitled "Le projet d'une critique 'productive'", a critical method of translation that is not a "model", but a possible analytical process. By following the steps devised by Berman, we will endeavor to apply this method to a translation of several short stories by the American writer Raymond Carver, chosen from the collection Will You Please Be Quiet Please?, first published by McGraw-Hill in 1976. The work has only been …  Lire la suite

The development of the nematode C. elegans is invariant allowing investigators to use genetic analysis in this model system to identify components of many critical developmental pathways. The Roy laboratory uses this strategy to identify genes that control cell division throughout the course of development. My work focusses on the intestinal lineage due to their typical cell division pattern. Using genetic analysis, I have characterized the role of genes that affect the transition from mitosis to karyokinesis and finally endoreplication that occurs in the intestinal cells post-embryonically during the first larval stage. Five mutants that were isolated are grouped into …  Lire la suite

Lepage, Martin (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

Phosphocreatine was found to alter the phosphorylation state of two proteins of apparent molecular weight 18 and 29 Kd when added to dialysed, cell-free extracts of rat skeletal muscle and brain, in the presence of $ lbrack tau$-$ sp{32}$P) ATP. The 29 Kd protein was identified as phosphoglycerate mutase. Phosphoglycerate mutase was phosphorylated at the active site histidyl residue by (2-$ sp{32}$P) 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate. 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate was labelled through the concerted action of phosphoglycerate kinase and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate mutase. Phosphocreatine-dependent phosphorylation at this site resulted from a shift in phosphoglycerate kinase equilibrium, in the presence of creatine kinase, ultimately resulting in an increase …  Lire la suite

Chouinard, Luc E. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Après l'imprésentable porte sur la manière dont des artistes contemporains réactualisent la question du sublime et sur la singularité de leurs réinterprétations au regard de l'histoire conceptuelle du sublime. Plusieurs études récentes ont tenté de définir un sublime « contemporain » en associant des problématiques actuelles, comme le réchauffement planétaire ou le développement du numérique, à des définitions modernes et postmodernes du sublime que les œuvres d'art sont simplement appelées à illustrer. La thèse innove en partant de la prémisse selon laquelle les œuvres constituent des interprétations du sublime à part entière et en établissant que la spécificité de leur …  Lire la suite

This qualitative, interpretive research inquiry presents a multiple case study design that aims to describe, understand, and explain two primary teachers' pedagogical strategies for teaching social studies and their implementation of literacy events, in a Montreal French school (L1) and in a French immersion school (L2). Two teachers and their students were observed during all the 1992--1993 school year, as they taught social studies lessons. The contexts for the study are one grade 3--4 French classroom and one grade 3 French immersion classroom. We used ethnographic tools of inquiry such as participant observation, fieldnotes, audiotaped lessons, official documents, formal and …  Lire la suite

Many musicologists have attempted to discover new approaches to clarify, classify, and distinguish musical styles and genres, such as determining the origins of these styles and genres. Moreover, one of the great enigmas has been to trace the origins of the so-called “Parisian” chanson (according to H. M. Brown), a French song style that emerged in Pierre Attaingnant’s printing shop, from 1528 to 1535.In 1528, the king’s printer, Pierre Attaingnant, published some forty chansons composed in the new “Parisian” style: Chansons nouvelles en musique à quatre parties (RISM 1528/3). With his printing shop located in the heart of Paris, Attaingnant …  Lire la suite

The view that cardiac output is the prime determinant of maximal oxygen intake has been discussed in the medical literature for some time (13, 61). The proposition was challenged by subsequent investigators (7, 30, 82) who, in agreement with Bock et al (23), claimed that 'peripheral factors' in terms of local blood flow and various changes at the muscular site were limiting maximal oxygen intake. [...]  Lire la suite

This study explored the ability of left hemisphere damaged (LHD) nonfluent aphasics, right hemisphere damaged (RHD) patients, and normal speakers to produce acoustic correlates of linguistic prosody. Productions of phonemic stress contrasts (e.g., black$ prime$board vs. black board$ prime$) and contrastive stress tokens (e.g., The man took the bus), were elicited and subjected to acoustic analyses. Results indicated that RHD and LHD groups resembled normal speakers in the use of fundamental frequency and amplitude to encode stress, indicating preserved abilities in both neurological populations. However, the LHD aphasic subjects demonstrated patterns of durational alterations that were statistically different from those …  Lire la suite

"Books are books, and can suffer the same fate as men. They too can be killed in battle," wrote Georges Bernanos in Francais, si vous saviez. Bernanos' work thus demands to be read through the optic of his battle against the modern spirit. If the polemical focus is clear in his political writings, criticism of his work has never fully recognized its deployment throughout his novels. It is therefore when Bernanosian fiction renounces any expression of its intention, eluding any dimension of rhetoric---when it is dramatically demobilized---that it is meant to be its most scandalous. What is the mission of …  Lire la suite

Rivard, Yvon (Advisor)  Lire la suite

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification involved in eukaryotic genome regulation at local and global scales. It is associated with the transcriptional repression of coding and non-coding DNA, as well as changes in chromosome structure. Many complex plant processes including growth, development, environmental stress response and adaptation are connected to changes in DNA methylation landscapes. The DOMAINS REARRANGED METHYLTRANSFERASES (DRMs) are plant-specific de novo DNA methyltransferases that target genomic loci through the RNA-directed DNA methylation pathway, though their importance in plant development has yet to be realized—especially for monocots. Since many economically important crops are monocots with large, complex …  Lire la suite

Pattern recognition molecules (PRM) are important components of the innate immune response in recognizing the presence of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMP) and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMP). The nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 1 (Nod1) and Nod2 proteins of the PRM family of Nod-like receptors (NLR) have shown to play an important roles in modulating the inflammatory response through specific recognition of molecular constituents of bacterial peptidoglycan (PGN). The importance of Nod1- and Nod2-mediated PGN recognition was recently underlined as Nod1- and Nod2-deficient mice were found to have defects in mounting antimicrobial T and B cell immunity with an especially marked reduction of …  Lire la suite

In its broad definition, active sensing consists of the integration of all sensorimotor inputs that lead to a specific behavior. Classic examples of it are echolocation used by bats and dolphins to optimally navigate their environment and eye movements in that pair with visual perception in mammals. In the central nervous system, one of the main neurotransmitters, acetylcholine (Ach), acts through nicotinic and muscarinic receptors (mAchRs) to regulate cortical signaling. This Ach-mediated signaling contributes to many cognitive processes and is critical to sensorimotor control. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, we identified a small circuit that integrates both sensory and motor …  Lire la suite

The presented research looks at means of modifying automotive powertrain modeling and simulation (PM&S) software tools to suit the needs of the off-road vehicle industry.The tools currently available to the off-road vehicle industry for PM&S are limited compared to those available to the automotive industry. This research defines, tests and validates (at full scale), an improved modeling and simulation methodology. The proposed methodology predicts the vehicle speed and the power flow between components in an off-road vehicle driven in a complex real life environment. The approach used is to combine automotive PM&S with a geographic information system (GIS) application. This …  Lire la suite

This thesis addresses the question: can an electric snowmobile be one of the solutions to help lower snowmobile emissions and energy consumption? In addressing this question the performance limitations of current electric snowmobile prototypes are investigated and it is shown that, unless a huge leap is seen in current battery technology energy density, electric snowmobiles cannot perform on par with gasoline snowmobile on both range and performance simultaneously. Despite this, electric snowmobiles do have a certain number of niche applications where they can be useful. This thesis suggests that electric snowmobile powetrain modeling and simulation for these niche applications can …  Lire la suite

Ricciardi, Anthony (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite