McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par R

Air transport is by its very nature one of the most international of economic activities. However, until fairly recently, its regulatory framework has been premised on an overriding nationalism developed and maintained on the basis of the following: substantial ownership and effective control provisions found in national legislation and most bilateral air transport agreements; restrictions on cabotage found in national legislation, most bilateral air transport agreements and Article 7 of the Chicago Convention; and the related national restrictions on the right of establishment applicable to national carriers. However, as the international component of the air transport industry has grown in …  Lire la suite

Studies of extraintestinal infections caused by genetically related strains of Escherichia coli among unrelated people have demonstrated the epidemic potential of this group of bacteria. These related extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) may have a common source. Our group recently described how retail meat, particularly chicken, may be a reservoir for ExPEC causing human urinary tract infections (UTIs). By moving upstream on the farm to fork continuum, this study tests whether the reservoir for ExPEC is in food animals themselves. A total of 824 geographically and temporally matched E. coli isolates from cecal contents of slaughtered food animals (n=349) and …  Lire la suite

Coulton, James W. (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Szyf, Moshe (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Descriptions of the edges of the Roman world were shaped by social preoccupations and identity issues. Living in a newly unified Roman world, the popularizing geographers of the early Empire (Strabo, Mela, Pliny) used descriptions of fictional and remote people such as the utopian Hyperboreans, the cannibal Scythians and the monstrous Dog-Heads to present customs and behaviors that were utterly un-Roman. These rhetorical descriptions helped define Roman identity through antithetical exempla. In contrast to this, the fifth and sixth centuries, the anonymous authors of legends surrounding the figure of Saint Christopher witnessed a crisis of Roman identity fostered by a …  Lire la suite

Most studies that examined the relationship between retinal structure and function did so on altricial animals; animals that are born with closed eyes and an immature retina. However, if one wishes to transpose results to humans, we must take into consideration the fact that the human infant is born with its eyes opened and mature retina (precocial). Also, while the human retina is composed of approximately 6% cones, the retinas of rats and mice (the most common models) are made of 1--3% cones. Hence, the guinea pig (Cavia Porcellus) offers an excellent alternative to the usual rodent models. It is …  Lire la suite

Intervertebral disc degeneration leading to low back pain is one of the most prevalent ailments facing society. Despite how widespread this disease is, the exact method of degeneration has yet to be determined. Pain in the disc often occurs when there is a loss of integrity in the tissue, and this weakening allows for innervation. The healthy disc, capped by two cartilage endplates between adjacent vertebrae which are responsible for the little molecular exchange with the rest of the body that the disc has, is typically a-vascular, has no neurons and is deemed a sterile environment within the body. The …  Lire la suite

There are a number of studies in the literature which indicate that stimulation in infancy can affect activity, emotionality" and learning in the adult rat (Levine, 1962). The effects are highly dependent upon small differences in treatment (Brookshire, et al, 1961), and not all the studies are in agreement, but there are enough positive results to indicate that the phenomenon is a genuine one. [...]  Lire la suite

This dissertation offers the first comprehensive examination of the diverse inte-ractions and collaborations among Canadian modernist poets and artists, as well as the aesthetic, thematic, and idiomatic relationships between their poems and works of art. The project incorporates archival and historical research to demon-strate the interartistic nature of modernist poetry in Canada between 1930 and 1960. By establishing that paintings, sculptures, and book designs and illustrations by Canadian artists who knew and worked closely with Canadian modernist poets informed and affirmed the content and aesthetics of the poetry, the dissertation argues for a consideration of the social dimension of literary …  Lire la suite

This thesis refuses the distinction between Special Education and its presupposition, Unspecial Education, arguing that we should refuse to become Unspecially Educated. It moves through the poetics of relation to experiment affective, processual, relational, and collective modes of study. Examining normativity as a perceptive tendency which orients knowledge production and value frameworks within the social sciences and education and literacy research, it contributes a theory of “attention abundance” as a mode of study which has been misunderstood as “attention deficit”. Deviating from the framework of diagnosis and the certain track of methodology, attention abundance as an uncertain wandering presents an …  Lire la suite

Burns, David H. (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

In recent years the need has arisen for closely regulated voltage supplies. A few typical applications where such requirements have to be satisfied are found in work involving the use of high-frequency oscillators (klystrons), photoelectric apparatus, electronic measuring instruments and test equipment. [...]  Lire la suite

This study investigated the effects of family structure on Italian grandmothers' perceptions of their level of involvement, role conceptualizations and their positions on common familial issues. The sample consisted of Italian grandmothers from two groups of families: intact families (N = 30) in which grandmothers' adult children were in first marriages; and divorced families (N = 23) in which grandmothers' adult children were permanently separated or divorced. Level of involvement was operationalized in terms of contact, specifically frequency of visitation and telephone calls, between a grandparent and a grandchild. Variables that have been found to influence contact (a grandparent's custodial …  Lire la suite

Les cellules souches de tumeurs cérébrales (BTSCs) sont responsables de la récidive et de l’agressivité du glioblastome. Cependant, aucun traitement efficace ciblant ces cellules n’a pu être identifié, en raison du caractère complexe de ces cellules et la présence de multiples voies de signalisation cellulaires présentent dans ces cellules. Le récepteur de l'oncostatine M (OSMR) a été identifié comme étant un médiateur clé dans la maintenance des BTSCs et la progression du gliome. Ce récepteur a été identifié comme étant un co-récepteur du récepteur du facteur de croissance épidermique variant III (EGFRvIII) et responsable de l’activation de STAT3. OSMR a …  Lire la suite

Titre de l'étude de recherche:Aperçu de la prise en charge des patientes âgées atteintes de cancer de l'endomètre.Contexte: Le cancer de l'endomètre (CE) est la malignité la plus courante parmi lescancers gynécologiques en Amérique du Nord et dans les pays développés. L'incidence du cancer de l'utérus et la mortalité qui lui est associée augmentent et semblent continuer d'augmenter au cours de la prochaine décennie. Étant donné que les patientes âgées atteintes de cancer sont sous-représentées dans les essais cliniques, les lignes directrices thérapeutiques reposent sur des données provenant de patientes plus jeunes. Bien que les femmes âgées présentent plus souvent …  Lire la suite

Lachapelle, Kevin J (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

Providing chronically ill patients with informational support is crucial for successful disease management. The effectiveness of educational interventions was examined utilizing three questionnaires which assessed glaucoma patients' health beliefs, disease knowledge and medication compliance. 60 chronic open-angle glaucoma patients either: watched a glaucoma film, read glaucoma information pamphlets, received instruction verbally from their ophthalmologist or proceeded with their regular check-up. Measures were taken pre-intervention, then 2 and 30 days later. A 3 x 4 mixed ANOVA found a significant interaction between time and intervention in the film group. The relationship between the degree of patient's visual field loss and measures …  Lire la suite

This doctoral dissertation, as part of a large and ongoing CIHR-funded study, used a subset of the total sample to evaluate the contribution of interactive health communication (IHC) as a complement to more traditional means of informational support (Care-as-usual) to optimal adjustment of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer (N = 135). According to the study protocol, participants in the experimental group received an IHC educational intervention for an eight-week period. Measures of psychosocial adjustment and information-related variables were administered in interviews at Time 1 (pre-intervention) within 8 weeks of initial diagnosis, and again 8 weeks post-intervention (Time 2). Psychosocial …  Lire la suite

In this thesis we consider a variety of circuit verification approaches, from simulation-based verification used in netlist verification to equivalence checking of high-level circuit representations. All the methods employ Arithmetic Transform (AT), which, depending of the needs, is used for netlist error representation, test vector generation, formal circuit description and finally modeling of precision errors in imprecise circuits. The thesis first presents the methodology for simulation-based verification under a fault model. We propose an implicit fault model that is especially suitable for arithmetic circuit verification. The model is based on the AT representation of the faults, enabling the verification by …  Lire la suite

In recent years, the rapid expansion of the consumer electronics market have resulted in a tremendous increase in the scope of applications for Digital Signal Processing (DSP) systems. Consequently, there is an increasing demand for ultimate quality DSP products which, in turn, necessitates structured design for testability (DFT) methodologies and in particular Built-In Self Test (BIST). The classical BIST schemes usually employ the specialized test pattern generation and test response compaction circuitry, which, in consequence, introduces a significant hardware overhead and performance degradation to a design under test. In this thesis, we propose an entirely new Arithmetic Built-In Self Test …  Lire la suite

Le système immunitaire adaptatif est un système biologique complexe fonctionnant sur de nombreuses longueurs et échelles de temps. Les cellules T, cellules effectrices du système immunitaire adaptatif, sont capables de reconnaître des quantités infimes d'agents pathogènes et de monter une réponse très fort, tout en ne répondant pas du tout à de grandes quantités de soi-antigènes. La réponse est étroitement régulée au niveau intra-, inter- et extracellulaire par des réseaux complexes d'interaction protéine-protéine. Bien que les interactions aient été décrites de manière qualitative, une compréhension quantitative fait souvent défaut.Dans cette thèse, nous présentons des approches informatiques inspirées de la physique …  Lire la suite

Previous scholarship in dance and music often treats choreography as a response to musical cues. This model does not account for the reciprocal relationship between synchronous gesture and sound; the musical score, an unchanging object, serves as the source of information for gesture (Leman and Naveda, 2010). I challenge this model by arguing that dance and music reciprocally reinforce or contradict one another. This dialectical approach incorporates choreographic analysis into musical analysis, destabilizing what appears fixed in the score.The centerpiece for the study is Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s choreography to Béla Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4, titled Bartók/Aantekeningen and released …  Lire la suite

Over 36 million people are estimated to be infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) worldwide. Current highly active antiretroviral therapy prevents the progression of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. However, a regular drug intake imposes an important economic burden on the health system and comes with a number of side effects, therefore, a cure is needed. Protein Kinase R (PKR), as part of the interferon response, shuts down protein synthesis in the infected cells upon sensing the viral double-stranded RNA, thus, stopping the virus production. Upon stress, cells can also activate PKR through a PKR activator protein (PACT). HIV-1 evolved with …  Lire la suite

Gyakum, John (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Abstract Not Available.  Lire la suite

The Crying Wave is a twenty minute music composition for an amplified ensemble of fifteen instruments combined with a prerecorded electroacoustic audio component and live signal processing. The composition explores the use of fundamental electroacoustic music techniques such as additive, subtractive, and granular synthesis as models for the creation and manipulation of materials and structure in both the instrumental and electroacoustic aspects of the work. Two series of harmonies underlie the piece and serve as both harmonic and melodic resources. Procedures including additive/subtractive durations, palindrome and canon, the Fibonacci series, and antiphonal alternation of instrumental groups are used throughout the …  Lire la suite

Khoutorsky, Arkady (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

La croissance explosive du trafic Internet a entraîné une augmentation de la communication de données au sein des centres de données qui utilisent des interconnexions optiques pour la communication. Cela nécessite le développement de récepteurs optiques à basse consommation, haute vitesse et haute sensibilité pour soutenir cette communication accrue. De plus, avec les nouvelles opportunités d'innovation offertes par les technologies photoniques en silicium, la co-conception de l'électronique et de la photonique pourrait mener à des récepteurs plus efficaces et améliorés. Sous l'égide de la co-conception électronique / photonique, cette thèse explore deux thèmes: 1) la conception de récepteurs optiques écoénergétiques …  Lire la suite

In the developing nervous system, neuron number and innervation are determined by the balance between the activity of pro-survival and pro-apoptotic proteins. We have examined the role of two such proteins, p73 and SHP-2, in cultured post-natal sympathetic neurons, a model system for developing peripheral neurons. p73 is a newly identified member of the p53 tumor suppressor family that exists as both truncated and full-length isoforms. We found that p73 is expressed in the developing nervous system as a truncated isoform (DeltaNp73) whose protein levels dramatically decreased when sympathetic neurons apoptose following NGF withdrawal. Ectopic expression of DeltaNp73 prevented this …  Lire la suite

This thesis is devoted to the optimal commitment of generation units in a power system, a problem known as a Unit Commitment (UC). This optimization is a difficult nonlinear mixed-integer task with various constraints whose exact solution can be found only through explicit enumeration. However, this technique requires impossibly long computational time and is impractical for most industrial applications. Various optimization techniques are proposed in the literature to solve the UC problem. In the present thesis, the Lagrangian Relaxation technique has been chosen for study. First, the Lagrangian Relaxation technique is applied to the static UC problem (SUC), that is, …  Lire la suite

An improved algorithm for classification of nystagmus was designed allowing the sorting of response segments even in severely non-linear patients and subjects with abnormally large phase shifts. The algorithm employs a model-based approach that was developed by Rey and Galiana (1991). The improved classification algorithm consists of two essential stages. In the first stage the eye velocity response is classified to obtain best possible estimates of the slow phase eye velocity intervals. In the second stage, the slow phase estimates are used to identify a response phase shift and non-linearity, and compensate for their effects. Multiple tests on simulated data …  Lire la suite

This thesis concentrates on three main areas of research in the field of poly(vinyl chloride), PVC: (1) microstructure determination and local chain motions of PVC in a plasticized system, (2) permeability of PVC and plasticized PVC to gases, and (3) computer modeling of the thermal degradation of PVC. A quantitative carbon-13 NMR spectrum of PVC in 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane-d$ sb2$ (TCE-d$ sb2$) was recorded. Theoretical predictions using Bernoullian statistics permitted the reassignment of several resonances. Carbon-13 spin-lattice relaxation times and NOE values were measured as a function of temperature at two magnetic fields for PVC in two solvents, di-butyl phthalate (DBP) and …  Lire la suite

The Canadian greenhouse gas offset system was proposed and developed with the objective of assisting Canada in achieving its Kyoto target by means of low cost emission reduction. This study estimates the potential of agricultural soils in Canada to provide carbon credits. Carbon sequestration practices such as moderate till, no-till and perennial crop activities were considered in the analysis. Crops under different tillage regimes, hay and alfalfa were also included in the study. Simulation analysis was undertaken using the Canadian Regional Agricultural Model (CRAM) for carbon prices ranging from $5 to $100/t of CO2e. Carbon credits generated as a result …  Lire la suite

The high complexity of optimal detection for spatial multiplexing MIMO systems motivates the need for more practical alternatives. Among many suboptimal schemes reported in the literature, very few can be proven to provide close to optimal performance with low fixed complexity. In this thesis, we consider a class of list-based detectors that first generate a list of candidate decision vectors, and then the best candidate in the list is chosen as the final decision. First, we perform a diversity analysis of such schemes and derive sufficient conditions for achieving optimal performance asymptotically. We then introduce the Sel-MMSE-OSIC algorithm that employs …  Lire la suite

Le WaferBoard(tm) de DreamWafer qui permet de prototyper rapidement des systèmes électroniques est un outil proposé pour répondre aux contraintes de développent grandissantes de nos jours. L'objectif du WaferBoard(tm) est de réduire le temps à la commercialisation et de prototypage, tout en augmentant la fiabilité et la performance des innovations microélectroniques. Au coeur du WaferBoard(tm) se trouve le WaferIC(tm), un circuit CMOS à la taille d'une gaufre. A la surface de ce circuit complexe, un très grand nombre de points de contacts identiques est présent; n'importe quelle paire de ces points peut être interconnectée grâce aux mailles du réseau appelé …  Lire la suite

In the area of copyright, contracts are the necessary means of making copyrighted works economically valuable. Canadian artists have historically found themselves in economically and contractually unfavourable positions. Collective bargaining mechanisms, such as copyright collectives and artists’ associations, are underpinned by justifications that are aimed at assisting the correction of some of the contractual imbalances that artists face. Ultimately, however, despite the theoretical advantages that collective bargaining mechanisms might hold for artists in copyright contracting, these mechanisms have been unable to substantially increase the welfare of Canadian artists. If collective bargaining mechanisms are to become useful for Canadian artists in …  Lire la suite

Latham, G. (Supervisors)  Lire la suite

A computer may be defined as a device that performs mathematical operations on input data to yield results which may otherwise be obtained by more laborious and time-consuming methods. Analogue computers represent a general method of using one physical system as a model for another system, more difficult to construct or measure, that obeys equations of the same form. An analogue computer is one which deals with continuously variable physical magnitude; a simple example is the use of an electrolytic trough to plot lines of current flow between immersed electrodes, which are analogous to the lines of electric intensity between …  Lire la suite

Background Studies in acute and chronic post-stroke recovery suggest that both microstructural and molecular changes in stroke-affected fibre tracts are associated with clinical outcome. These processes can be measured noninvasily in the living human brain using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and together these neuroimaging techniques provide a detailed multimodal approach to the assessment of post-stroke neuroplasticity. With four controlled prospective studies, this thesis addresses direct and indirect microstructural and neuroinflammatory changes as they progress over time along infarct-affected fibres following subcortical ischaemic stroke of the Pyramidal tract (PT). Methods Patients with subcortical ischaemic stroke either …  Lire la suite

Finch, James A. (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

The objective of this thesis was to assess the acceptance of an online-questionnaire in a survey of young adults in southern Germany. The online-questionnaire was implemented in a study of respiratory diseases. Each of 280 subjects, aged 18 to 20 years, was assigned randomly to one of two groups who responded using (1) a paper-based questionnaire and (2) an otherwise identical questionnaire that was to be completed on the Internet. This group also received a copy of the printed questionnaire. Only eight subjects made use of the online-questionnaire, and the remainder of the respondents used the paper-based instrument. The major …  Lire la suite

The Muted City examines the problematization of noise in New York City from 1930 to 1989, focusing on the periods surrounding the city's adoption of its first comprehensive noise ordinance in 1936 and the law's first major revision in 1972. The dissertation situates noise in this specific urban context, moving between the scales of local history and microhistory in order to present an account of the ordinances and some of their broader social and cultural effects. To accomplish this, I use archival sources, newspaper and trade reports, and advertising and popular science materials to construct a narrative of the civic …  Lire la suite

The complement system is an intricate immune surveillance system that plays an integrative role in host defense and homeostasis. The dominant protective effect of the fifth complement component (C5) was firmly established in the mouse model of disseminated Candida albicans infection, where C5 deficiency results in increased mortality and high fungal burden. Using a cohort of 23 inbred mouse strains, we have uncovered several putative genetic associations by GWAS, in addition to C5, that control replication of C. albicans in the host, and identified two discordant strains, namely AKR/J and SM/J. C5-deficient AKR/J strain displays a reduced fungal burden in …  Lire la suite

The MaxEnt (maximum entropy) approach is a recently introduced analytic framework that utilizes plant traits to predict community assembly along environmental gradients. I aimed to provide a rigorous test of this approach using forest understory fern communities. I executed the MaxEnt algorithm by inputting observed community-aggregated traits (CATs), and accurately determined species abundance distributions (SADs). These results support the notion that trait-based environmental filtering at least in part drives fern community assembly, but a more general application of the MaxEnt approach depends on its ability to predict SADs using CATs independently estimated from environmental data. In an initial exploration of …  Lire la suite

matlab est un langage de script dynamique utilisé à des fins de calcul numérique par des scientifiques, ingénieurs et étudiants du monde entier. Les programmes matlab sont souvent développés selon une méthode incrémentale, sur la base d'un mélange de scripts et fonctions Matlab, et sont habituellement conçus à partir d'un code existant dont les fonctionnalités seraient obsolètes. Par conséquent, certains programmes pourraient bénéficier de réusinage, surtout si le code sera réutilisé et/ou distribué. Malgré ce besoin, il n'existe aucun outil matlab de ce genre. Le réusinage de Matlab est assez difficile car les règles pour la liaison des identificateurs ne …  Lire la suite

The work in this thesis consisted of two studies: 1) analysis of the microbial biodiversity of multiple ground ice types from the Arctic and the High Arctic; 2)examination of the survival of Cryptococcus NP33 under simulated Martian conditions over 41 days. The first study involved culture-dependent and independent evaluations of the microbial communities found in a buried firnified snow bank, a buried glacier, a pingo and ice wedges. Direct and culturable counts in the various ground ice types differed from each other (104 – 108 cellsmL-1 direct counts; 0 - 105 CFUmL-1 culturable counts), and were only weakly correlated to …  Lire la suite