McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par R

Private Information Retrieval (PIR), which allows users to query one (or many replicated) database(s) for the ith element, while keeping i private, has received a lot of attention in recent years. Indeed, since Chor et al. [31, 32] introduced this problem in 1995, many researchers have improved bounds and proposed extensions. The following pages continue along this path: pushing the techniques of [52] we obtain an improved upper bound and define and provide a solution to a new problem which we call private information retrieval with authentication. In addition, we motivate the study of PIRs by presenting new and useful …  Lire la suite

Superparamagnetic cellulosics were prepared by the in situ synthesis of nanoscale ferrites. The internal reaction volume of cellulosic matrices served as compartments for the controlled precipitation of iron oxides, biomimicking magnetic bacteria such as Aquispirillum magnetotacticum. Nanocomposites were prepared from a range of materials, both ionic and nonionic. The ionics were sulfonated thermomechanical wood pulp (TMP), sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), calcium alginate fibres and chemically modified rayon tirecord, in addition to a model synthetic system which consisted of a Nafion$ sp circler$ 117 ion-exchange membrane. Two never-dried, water-swollen, nonionic cellulose gels were also used as substrates for in situ synthesis: a …  Lire la suite

This study investigated the within-group differences in ice-time and experience with the team in task cohesion perceptions of college hockey players and their relationship with team performance success. One hundred and seventy-one male hockey players between the age of seventeen and twenty-two years, representing ten teams, answered the two task portions of the Group Environment Questionnaire, as well as a question concerning their feelings regarding the amount of ice-time received during games. The data was analysed using a 3 x 2 ANOVA for success by ice-time and success by experience with the team for each of the two measures of …  Lire la suite

The mouse multidrug resistance mdr gene family is composed of three closely related members termed mdr1, mdr2, and mdr3. Gene specific hybridization probes have been used to determine that the three mdr genes are linked on a chromosomal segment of 625 kilobases, with the gene order and orientation: (5$ sp prime$) mdr3 (3$ sp prime$)-(5$ sp prime$) mdr1 (3$ sp prime$)-(3$ sp prime$) mdr2 (5$ sp prime$). In independently derived cell lines, we observed that the emergence of multidrug resistance is linked to the overexpression of either and mdr1 or the mdr3 gene. The mdr1 gene has been isolated and …  Lire la suite

The first part of this thesis analyses a few elements which allow Élise Turcotte, in Le bruit des choses vivantes, to depict a female character who is both vulnerable and resilient, while she is attempting to overcome a heartbreak. We will examine how the character's emotional state sets her up to evolve, to develop a better knowledge of the rapport she has with herself and her surrounding world. The second part is a story in prose in which a female character tries to understand her rapport to love and writing. This character's principal trait is her vulnerability. In order to …  Lire la suite

L’existence de relations causales entre des variables aléatoires peut être suspectée en analyse multivariée. Le cas échéant, c’est-à-dire lorsque l’hypothèse d’échangeabilité est rejetée, le practicien doit se tourner vers des modèles qui capturent cette dépendence asymmétrique. Outre une revue de littérature des modèles de copules existants, cette thèse rassemble denouvelles propriétés des copules dites de Liouville. Les propriétés extrémales des copules de Liouville sont établies. Une attention particulière est portée à la dérivation d’estimateurs efficaces du point de vue du temps de calcul. La thèse inclut également les détails de l’implémentation numérique et de la procédure d’optimisation. Une application du …  Lire la suite

Le pergélisol (~ -17°C) constitue 27% de tous les écosystèmes terrestres. Bien que les environnements polaires, tel le pergélisol, contiennent diverses communautés microbiennes actives, notre compréhension de ces communautés reste limitée. Ces environnements sont d’excellents analogues de Mars et d'Europe/Encelade et nous fournissent d'importants renseignements sur les possibilités et limites de la vie sous zéro. Compte tenu de l’absence générale de recherche axée sur les microbes du pergélisol, l’objectif de cette thèse était de caractériser la croissance sous zéro et les adaptations au froid des microorganismes isolés de ces environnements. Nous avons analysé le protéome provenant de la bactérie Planococcus …  Lire la suite

Dispute resolution is an important issue for corporations. Whether the disputes are with their suppliers, employees or with consumers, managing disputes effectively is integral to healthy business risk management. While arbitration is a well-known alternative in disputes with suppliers or employees, its use is infrequent in disputes with consumers. The purpose of this thesis is to introduce arbitration as an option for alternative dispute resolution between businesses and consumers. Banking institutions, insurance companies, businesses in the securities industry and most suppliers of good and services can usefully take advantage of this tool. In our view, the legislative framework in Quebec …  Lire la suite

[...]It is generally accepted that the composition of the oat grain is influenced by number of factors such as variety, climate and soil.In the present study, the following factors in relation to the proportion of Hull will be considered: a) Variety (Earlil1ess-Type of Panicle-Shape of Kernel); b) Rates and Dates of Seeding; c) Rainfall Distribution; d) Weight per measured bushel; e) Yield of Grain per acre; f) Yield of Straw per acre; g) Lodging; h) LengtH of the Growing Season. [...]  Lire la suite

Objectif. Comparer l'experience d'hospitalisation des sans-abri avec celle d'une population residente de bas niveau socio-economique. Methode. Une recherche de dossiers a ete effectuee a l'hopital Saint-Luc a partir du recensement des 7993 sans-abri qui avaient utilise les refuges montrealais durant la periode allant du 1er mars 1988 au 22 fevrier 1989. Les donnees de la feuille sommaire des 245 hospitalisations qui avaient eu lieu durant la meme periode ont ete comparees a celles extraites du registre MedEcho pour les residents du territoire du Departement de Sante Communautaire Sant-Luc ayant ete hospitalises a l'hopital Saint-Luc. En outre, les dossiers des sans-abri …  Lire la suite

Climatology as a branch of Geography and even of Meteorology has been mainly a descriptive subject. Hare (1960) has pointed out that only in comparatively recent years has there been an attempt to explain quantitatively how the various parameters of climate evolve and thus to approach the ultimate question of how it is that one climate varies from another. Most of the answers are to be found through Meteorology, and must be, since the tools required for this work have been developed there. The following is an attempt to explain what processes, and of how great a magnitude, cause temperature …  Lire la suite

The development of science is illumined at fortunately frequent intervals by the unmistakeable emergence of men who provide their field of endeavor, if not all of science, with a formulation, a concept or a law that synthesizes the tomes of unfathomably scattered 'facts' elaborated by their predecessors. [...]  Lire la suite

Nuclear reactions, in which a highly energetic particle (or photon) bits a nucleus and knocks out one or more nucleons or clusters of nucleons, are called ‘spallation’ reactions. The study of spallation reactions, in particular the study of 'excitation functions’ - variation of production cross section with incident energy - is a simple and often very useful means of investigating the mechanism of nuclear reactions. As discussed later, excitation functions for spallation reactions may be divided roughly into two classes, those for which the threshold is in the region where the Bohr compound nucleus mechanism is said to be applicable …  Lire la suite

Since 1991, the Israeli-Palestinian drama has shifted from the tragic course of war and violence, to a framework for peace. Israel's sovereignty is a fait accompli. The geo-political form of Palestinian self-determination is to be shaped by both parties, taking into account regional reality and international law. This study serves as a modest examination of the application of certain international law concepts in settling two conflicting national aspirations within a unique factual context. The main theoretical definitions of self-determination and its legal status in international law are first reviewed, along with the socio-juridical aspect of nationhood. The analysis of those …  Lire la suite

This thesis will study the life and work of François-Joseph Cugnet (1721-1789) and his influence on Quebec’s legal tradition. The thesis first presents how François-Joseph Cugnet became a central character in the early formative years of Quebec’s legal universe after the British annexation. It then examines the context of the redaction and publication of the series of volumes known as the [Gentlemen’s] Abstract (or in French the Abrégé des Messieurs), published in 1772 and 1773, and how they relate to the works of Cugnet, in particular, his short sketch of the Custom of Paris which he prepared around 1767. The …  Lire la suite

Les observations multi-messagers des ondes gravitationnelles et des émissions électromagnétiques provenant de fusions d'objets compacts offrent des informations uniques sur la structure des étoiles à neutrons, la formation des éléments lourds et le taux d'expansion de l'Univers. Avec les détecteurs d'ondes gravitationnelles LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) actuellement dans leur quatrième campagne d'observation (O4), c'est une période passionnante pour la détection de ces fusions. Cependant, il est difficile de déterminer s'il convient de donner suite à un événement candidat à une onde gravitationnelle compte tenu du temps et des ressources limités des télescopes; le candidat peut être une fausse alerte due à des …  Lire la suite

In the context of an object-oriented programming language such as Java, the ubiquitous use of instance fields and the presence of pointers (references to objects) make it difficult to understand a program's memory usage. Understanding memory usage is a key element for optimizing programs and side-effect analysis, an analysis to estimate variables that are inspected or altered by a computation, is of prime importance for understanding and optimizing Java programs. In this thesis, we study the impact of a set of practical side-effect analyses on optimizing Java programs. The main contribution of the thesis is the design and implementation of …  Lire la suite

Kimmins, Sarah (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Sharma, Abhinav (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Contrairement aux méthodes classiques de réduction du bruit introduites au cours des dernières décennies, ce travail se concentre sur un cadre d'application de réhaussement de la parole monocanal basé sur la régression au moyen d'un réseau de neurones profond (DNN), proposé par Liu et al.. Alors que ce nouveau cadre d'application peut conduire à une meilleure qualité de la parole par rapport aux approches classiques, il est caractérisé par une complexité de calcul élevée dans la tâche d'apprentissage. La principale contribution de ce travail est de réduire la complexité du DNN par modélisation de la transformation entre les coefficients cepstraux …  Lire la suite

The formulation and implementation of a far field boundary condition (FFBC) model for compressible flows is reported in this thesis. This FFBC model, developed for quasi-one-dimensional and two-dimensional flows, aims to permit a substantial reduction of the computational domain, leading to a considerable improvement in the computational efficiency. The present FFBC approach uses asymptotic expansions of the Riemann variables, which are truncated up to the required degree of accuracy. Then, the far field perturbation equations are integrated in time and applied in conjunction with the solution calculated within the computational domain. The propagating information from the computational domain is determined …  Lire la suite

Returning waste material underground, as backfill, has been practiced for many years so as to improve the economical and environmental performance of underground mining operations. A specific type of backfill, which is used to fill mined areas that will not be exposed to further mining, is called hydraulic backfill. Cemented backfill has also been used to provide mechanical support for underground mining. Such backfill has allowed mining companies to extract more ore, while simultaneously improving working and environmental conditions. Cemented backfill, however, represents 50 to 85 percent of operating costs compared with the 5 to 10 percent that hydraulic backfill …  Lire la suite

Reducing the dimensionality of a material from 3D to 2D introduces new quantum effects that can be exploited to see new physics and produce new devices. Two examples of such materials are graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms, and quantum well heterostructures confining charges to a planar potential well. A powerful method for observing charge transport in these 2D materials is time-resolved terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, using picosecond pulses of far-infrared light to measure the complex valued ac conductivity. In this thesis, THz spectroscopy is used to study the linear and nonlinear electrodynamic response of two 2D systems: graphene and …  Lire la suite

L'énergie d'haut grade de nos jours est produite principalement à base de combustion d'hydrocarbure et les réserves de cette énergie deviennent de plus en plus rare, mais certaines énergies alternatives connues gagnent des forces parmi les marchés incluant les sources d'énergie renouvelables et recyclées. Les usines pyrométallurgiques sont des consommateurs significatifs d'énergie d'haut grade. Ces procédés industriels relâches un montant important de chaleurs (perte) à l'environnement sans aucune récupération. Le but du projet est de concentrer, capturer et convertir cette chaleur résiduelle de basse qualité en énergie valable. Par contre, l'objectif principal du projet comme tel est de développer et …  Lire la suite

Hassani, Faramarz P (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

There is a dearth of literature examining the perspective of international students across their migration trajectory and scholars have given little attention to gender analysis in studies on international student migration. This thesis proposes a novel conceptual framework for examining this subject: human dignity. The following three-manuscript dissertation explores how Iranian international students living in Montreal have experienced human dignity in pre-and-post phases of their migration. In a case study using semi-structured qualitative interviews, 24 Iranian international graduate students (12 men and 12 women) explored the nexus of human dignity in relation to their motivations and experiences within Canadian universities …  Lire la suite

My PhD thesis aims to improve our understanding of the assembly process of the bacterial ribosome and the overarching goal of my research is to identify steps in this pathway that can be targeted with new molecular probes. Ribosome assembly in actively growing Escherichia Coli involves multiple events including synthesis of 54 ribosomal-proteins and their binding to ribosomal RNAs in a hierarchical manner. Many of these events are assisted by a number of accessory proteins known as assembly factors, making the process extremely fast and efficient. My PhD thesis contributes new knowledge on the precise mechanism by which YjeQ and …  Lire la suite

The aim of the research was to find out more about the structure of bituminous coal by studying the rate of mass transfer in coal particles. Previous investigations had shown that small molecules could be trapped in the coal matrix in two different ways. A procedure was developed to keep the various extracts separate from one another. Each of the extracts were analyzed in the following ways: (a) Ultimate analysis; (b) Molecular weight determination; (c) FT-IR spectra; (d) Differential scanning calorimetry; and (e) Thermogravimetric analysis. In the extraction process the first extraction was simple Soxhlet extraction. The residue from this …  Lire la suite

We analyze the phenomenon of wind channeling, defined as dynamically- and thermally-induced processes that force the wind to blow along a valley's axis, for the region of Montreal (CYUL). CYUL lies at the focus of three valleys (the St. Lawrence River Valley, Lake Champlain Valley, and Ottawa River Valley), and these valleys each play a role in the observed distribution of wind directions at CYUL. Both the prediction and the effects of this channeling are non-trivial. This study identifies distinct synoptic patterns associated with the various surface wind regimes for instances of channeling, sustained for at least 12 hours, and …  Lire la suite

Objectifs: Les individus souffrant d'une maladie chronique sont 1,6 fois plus susceptibles de mourir par suicide que les personnes ne souffrant pas de maladie chronique, en considérant statistiquement les maladies mentales. Un certain nombre d'études a décrit l'utilisation de l'énoncé 9 du questionnaire d'auto-évaluation de la santé par le patient (PHQ-9). Ce questionnaire utilisé dans les milieux médicaux, mesure les symptômes de dépression des patients afin de dépister des idées suicidaires chez ceux-ci. Cet énoncé demande aux patients s'ils ont eu des « pensées selon lesquelles ils seraient mieux morts ou s'ils ont eu l'idée de se faire du mal …  Lire la suite

It remains unknown whether chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Assessment Test (CAT) sub-items, particularly the breathlessness and pulmonary symptoms sub-items, carry useful information regarding the existence of impaired exercise tolerance among people with COPD. This retrospective study used data from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (CanCOLD) study to test the hypothesis that people with Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) grade 1 (mild) or 2 (moderate), group A COPD with (i) higher compared to lower CAT breathlessness sub-item scores or (ii) higher compared to lower CAT pulmonary symptom sub-items cluster scores have lower exercise tolerance (peak rate of …  Lire la suite

Root maggots attacking cruciferous crops were prevalent in Europe during the early part of the nineteenth century. One of the most serious of these pests, the cabbage root maggot, Hylemya brassicae (Bouché), was first reported in 1829 in England and it was first found in North America in the Boston area, U.S.A., in 1835. [...]  Lire la suite

The reductive cleavage of spruce wood lignosulphonic acids by sodium in liquid ammonia was studied with the object of determining the chemical nature of the cleavage products. After isolating the lignin with only a little chemical change, it was sulphonated with aqueous sodium bisulphite at pH 5 and 100° to yield an insoluble Stage I (83%) and a soluble Stage I lignosulphonate. The insoluble Stage I lignosulphonic acid was converted to a soluble Stage II product by autohydrolysis under mild conditions. Methylation with diazomethane was used to show that this conversion did not involve the production of free phenolic groups …  Lire la suite

A word-generation experiment explored the relative contributions of the left temporal neocortex and the left hippocampal region to verbal recall. Patients with large hippocampal excisions (LTH) were impaired in immediate recall of synonyms, whereas those with small hippocampal excisions (LTh) were not. Both groups were impaired in immediate recall of rhymes, and in delayed recall of both synonyms and rhymes. A nonverbal associative-learning task, where the stimulus-items came from a visual continuum, also resulted in a deficit for the LTH (but not the LTh) group. Patients with right temporal lobectomy performed both tasks normally. On an absolute-judgement task involving the …  Lire la suite

Numerous studies of the degradation of spruce lignin, both isolated and in the wood, using the techniques of fusion, hydrolysis, mild oxidation and hydrogenation, have shown that the greater part of this complex material is composed of guaiacyl radicals joined to a substituted propyl side chain. Quantitative studies of these degradations have, however, failed to account for more than approximately 70% of the lignin complex. [...] Since phenolic compounds are thought to yield no benzenepolycarboxylic acids when similarly oxidized, the production of the latter from lignin suggests that not all of the lignin molecule is based on guaiacyl or similar …  Lire la suite

Shrier, Alvin (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Files, H. (Supervisors)  Lire la suite

La littérature en études cinématographiques présume que les studios indépendants de films à petit budget, plus connus sous le vocable Poverty Row, prennent leur origine aux débuts du cinéma sonore, afin de bénéficier de la popularité croissante des projections à programme double. Cependant, l'émergence des studios indépendants de Poverty Row est en fait le résultat d'interactions complexes entre les studios naissants d'Hollywood et la production cinématographique indépendante durant la fin des années 1910 et durant les années 1920. À mesure que les studios hollywoodiens augmentent leur production, tout comme leurs réseaux de distribution et leurs circuits de projection, les producteurs …  Lire la suite

Bacteriophage-host relationships in the group A streptococcal system were investigated. Appropriate conditions for phage induction, propagation, and storage were studied. A set of sensitive streptococcal strains was established for lysogeny screening. The morphology of the temperate and virulent phages of group A streptococci was studied by electron microscopy and compared with that of the phages of group C streptococci. Computer image processing of the electron photomicrographs revealed subunit structures not otherwise evident. The lytic phage cycle including phage attachment to streptococci, intracellular development, and phage release was followed by electron microscopy. Observations were made on alterations in biological activity of …  Lire la suite

Macmillan, C. (Supervisors)  Lire la suite

Infertility is an intensely distressing life event for couples. Fertility treatments such as hormone therapy and in vitro fertilization can be painful and humiliating for patients as well. Gender and culture also influence a person's experience with infertility: women robustly report greater distress, and cultural or religious norms concerning childbearing and causes of infertility can influence the couple's distress. Various psychological treatments have been developed to help couples cope with the stresses of infertility and fertility treatment, but the acceptance rate for such services are low. In order to provide infertile couples with adequate psychological support, we need to understand …  Lire la suite

A class of compliant-joint manipulators is investigated, comprising of an open kinematic chain with revolute joints modeled as linear torsional springs. Singular perturbation techniques are used to separate the slow dynamics from the fast dynamics. The model shows the effect that inertial parameters have on the dynamics of the fast subsystem. Joint-torque control laws are examined. For large values of drive inertia, it may not be possible to use a fixed torque control law. For sufficiently small drive inertias there always exists a fixed decentralized joint-torque control law that will asymptotically stabilize the fast dynamics. An analysis of high gain …  Lire la suite