McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par R

Isabelle Vedel (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

We prove that any finitely generated group which splits as a graph of free groups with cyclic edge groups is hyperbolic relative to certain finitely generated subgroups, known as the peripheral subgroups. Each peripheral subgroup splits as a graph of cyclic groups. Any graph of free groups with cyclic edge groups is the fundamental group of a graph of spaces X where vertex spaces are graphs, edge spaces are cylinders and attaching maps are immersions. We approach our theorem geometrically using this graph of spaces. We apply a "coning-off" process to peripheral subgroups of the universal cover X̃ → X …  Lire la suite

Objective. To describe the factors predictive of hepatitis A disease severity. Design and setting. Cross-sectional study of hepatitis A cases during the recent HAV outbreak in the Montreal gay community. Subjects. All 631 hepatitis A cases documented in the Montreal-Centre region between November 1994 and December 1996. Outcome measures. Hepatitis A severity was operationalized as (1) the need for hospitalization and (2) a symptom severity index (vomiting, dark urine and abdominal pain). Results. Subjects were predominantly male (84%). Homosexual behaviour was reported in 68% of cases. Prevalence of a high severity index was 8%, and 12% of cases required hospitalization. …  Lire la suite

This study determines the effects of variations in suspended biomass, organic carbon, and pH on the time course of 2,2$ sp prime$,4,4$ sp prime$,5,5$ sp prime$-hexachlorobiphenyl uptake by laboratory cultures of Selenastrum capricornutum. Variations in pH had no effect, but uptake was enhanced by higher levels of biomass and depressed by higher levels of organic carbon. The coefficients for these measured effects on hexachlorobiphenyl were combined with existing relations based on molecular connectivity (X) or capacity ratio (K$ sp prime$) to yield semi-empirical equations to predict the instantaneous rate of uptake and bioconcentration factor (BCF) of organic contaminants as: eqalign{& …  Lire la suite

Background. Factors such as the shortage of personnel, hospital closures and mergers, the ageing of the population combined with the evolution of medical technologies have all added pressure to the health care system. These pressures have had an impact on current work environments and health care workers' satisfaction. In light of the evidence on the influence of job satisfaction and retention on the quality of tare and patient safety, interventions are needed to address these issues. Objective. The objective were to examine the effect of Appreciative Inquiry on: (1) the development of innovative ideas regarding work organization; (2) changes in …  Lire la suite

The implication of central noradrenergic and serotonergic systems in the control of mood has been known for forty years. Indeed, the different classes of molecules prescribed in the treatment of major depression directly interfere with the transmission mediated by these amines, either at the level of the synthesis, the release, the stimulation of receptors, the reuptake or the degradation. According to the leading theory in the field, the increase in serotonergic transmission is the final convergence point of currently prescribed antidepressant drugs. Pharmacological and electrophysiological studies have shown the essential role of the somatodendritic 5-HT1A autoreceptor in the control of …  Lire la suite

It is a well established fact that morphine is more toxic to young animals than to old. (see Literature Review, section C-l) Since morphine is known to act on the central nervous system, it was hoped that the investigation of its effects on brain metabolism "in vitro" in relation to age of the animal, might be another step towards the understanding of its mode of action "in vivo". [...]  Lire la suite

L'adolescence est une période de grande vulnérabilité où de nombreux facteurs externes et environnementaux peuvent avoir un impact important sur la maturation du cerveau. Les expériences de stress social telles que l’intimidation à l'adolescence peuvent entraver le développement du cortex préfrontal et altérer son rôle dans le contrôle cognitif. Cette perturbation du développement peut avoir des conséquences négatives sur le bon développement de la santé mentale. À l'adolescence, les axones dopaminergiques ciblent majoritairement le noyau accumbens, la plupart d'entre eux formant des connexions synaptiques locales durables. En revanche, les axones dopaminergiques mésocorticaux continuent de croître du noyau accumbens jusqu'au cortex …  Lire la suite

Waller, Harold M (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

The object of this study is a descriptive comparison of the informai organization of two aggregates of prison inmates.The essential difference between the two is that one group is awaiting trial while the other consists of regular, convicted offenders. Because of this, the wards containing each group differ considerably in formal organization. It is hypothesized that these formal differences (to be outlined later) will be reflected in the kinds of informal organization arising in each ward. That is, it is held that any informal differences encountered are at least partially a result of the different formal organization of the two …  Lire la suite

The effects that various forms of bilingual education may have on children's reading development are of concern to parents and educators alike. In this thesis, I investigate the development of mother tongue and second language reading in two bilingual education contexts, and assess the effects of the language of initial formal reading instruction upon this development. This study examines children's reading within the home, classroom and community environments. The research involved two Grade 1 classes mainly comparing the language of initial formal reading instruction. One site was a French immersion school offering a 50% English/50% French program in which initial …  Lire la suite

This dissertation evaluates the impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) jurisprudence on Canada's cultural rights structure and cultural citizenship. In total, the dissertation analyzes 49 Supreme Court Charter decisions in the areas of minority language, multiculturalism and aboriginal issues, as well as their reception by governmental authorities. It argues that Charter-based judicial review has confirmed and pushed further the choice Canada made after the Second World War to promote a polyethnic citizenship. The dissertation also formulates three larger theoretical claims. First, that the recognition of specific cultural rights for certain groups that go beyond fundamental political …  Lire la suite

Mechanical weeders were tested on both mineral and organic soils in 1995 and in 1996, to measure their impact on soil physical properties. The weeders were tested in three crops, carrots in mineral and organic soil, beans in mineral soil, and lettuce in organic soil. Soil bulk density and water content were measured at regular intervals during the weeder trial period, and samples for soil structural analysis were collected in the mineral soil at the beginning and at the end of each season. No significant results were found in differences in mean weight diameters of dry and water-stable aggregates. Soil …  Lire la suite

Cette thèse examine l’interface entre l’art, la science et la technologie dans la revue française L’Esprit nouveau (1920-25). En abordant la revue comme un index de l’esthétique scientifique du XIXe et du début du XXe siècle, je considère les polémiques disciplinaires qui ont nourri le programme de la revue au sujet d’une soi-disant « esthétique vivante ». Je pose la question suivante : comment cet accent mis sur la vitalité reflète-t-il les nouveaux régimes médicalisés d’hygiène psychique et sociale ? Et quelles étaient les métaphores centrales par lesquelles l’art et l’architecture étaient réunis au service d’un sujet conçu de manière …  Lire la suite

Societies that foster high quality social environments and integration produce healthier populations. The mechanisms underlying the protective effect of social integration appear to be through various forms of social support. In the Canadian Aboriginal context, few authors have explored the relationship between health and social support. This gap in understanding is significant because Aboriginal frameworks of health point to the salience of larger social structures (i.e., family), yet patterns of population health point to distinctly social causes of morbidity and mortality (e.g., violence, alcoholism). An interesting paradox emerges: patterns of Aboriginal health suggest that social support is not working to …  Lire la suite

This is a morphological study of the bark beetle Dendroetonus monticolae Hopk. It involves the external anatomy of the adult beetle, the reproductive system and the digestive tract. A discussion of the evolution of the Rhyncbophorous head is given in which the controversial points of various workers are mentioned. An explanation of the hypostoma and the tentorium is given aecording to the writer's interpretation. The thoracic segments are discussed from an outer and an inner aspect. The mesotergum is peculiar in its enlarged precosta and prescutum and specialized scutum and scutellum. The abdomen presents the most important sexual characters which …  Lire la suite

Pinacolyltrimethylammonium hydroxide has been found to yield on decomposition at both 30° in vacuo, and at 100- 1600, a single pure olefin, tert.-butylethylene. This is the first time the mechanism of Ingold and co-workers for such decompositions has been tested in a convincing way. The absence of rearranged products, and of saturated or cyclic hydrocarbons indicates unequivocally that the decomposition proceeds, not through free radical formation, but by expulsion of a proton, probably induced by preliminary hydrogen bonding, followed by rupture of the carbon-nitrogen bond. This same mechanism has been successfully extended to the decomposition of xanthate esters.  Lire la suite

Although allergy and immunity may appear, on superficial examination, to be two unrelated phenomena, studies have revealed that the mechanisms of the reactions involved in the manifestations of the immune and allergic states have common features. A brief survey of the fundamental aspects of immunology would therefore appear to be essential prior to a discussion of the mechanisms involved in the allergic reaction. The existence of immunity can be observed in an animal which, having recovered from a bacterial infection, is found to be resistant to a second infection with the pathogenic organism. The serum obtained from such an animal …  Lire la suite

The validity of the theories of quantum corrections to the electrical conductivity, namely weak localization and enhanced electron-electron interaction, has been tested quantitatively in well characterized, free-electron-like Mg-Cu and Mg-Zn metallic glasses containing various amounts of Ag and Au through measurement of the electrical resistivity between 1.5K and 20K in magnetic fields up to 5.6T. It is found that the theories give an excellent description of the magnetoresistance at low fields, in both the weak and strong spin-orbit scattering limit but that at higher fields they break down. The electron spin-orbit scattering and dephasing rates have been deduced. Above 4K …  Lire la suite

Hepatitis C (HCV) non-structural protein 5a (NS5a) is an RNA binding protein that plays an essential role in viral replication and assembly. NS5a domain I (NS5a-DI) forms a dimer and has been crystalized in two different conformations. The specific amino acid residues involved in dimerization and RNA binding are currently unknown, however, the dimeric form of NS5a-DI is proposed to be the active RNA binding conformation. There are currently no cell-free assays to study the NS5a dimerization and only a limited number of RNA-binding assays. We non-specifically labeled NS5a-DI with fluorescent Cy3 or Cy5-maleimide dyes under optimized conditions and used …  Lire la suite

It is the objective of this thesis first to indicate the present position of the United States domestic air freight industry, in relation to the whole U.S. domestic freight transportation system, and then to examine the ways in which this particular segment of the system is likely to develop. An analysis of the air freight industry made in the context of the total domestic freight transportation system, such as the analysis contained in this thesis, has, to my best belief, not been undertaken before. In order to achieve the first of the two objectives of the thesis - that of …  Lire la suite

The objective of this thesis is to forecast the scheduled airline revenue passenger traffic which will be carried by Brazilian airlines during the period 1959 to 1965. In order to provide a firm base for this forecast the following analyses have been made: 1) an analysis of the economic position of Brazil. 2) a descriptive examination of the Brazilian transportation system. 3) an analysis of the economic position of the Brazilian airline industry. 4) an analysis and discussion of methods used in forecasting air passenger traffic. 5) an examination of past air traffic statistics.  Lire la suite

Let G be a discrete subgroup of PSL(2, R), and consider closed geodesics on the quotient of the upper half plane by G. In this thesis, we study how these geodesics intersect when G is the group of units of norm 1 in an Eichler order of an indefinite quaternion algebra over Q, i.e. over a Shimura curve. We start by developing some theory for a general G, providing a pathway to interpret the geometry of the situation (intersection point, angle, etc.) in terms of the algebra of G. The next focus is on G=PSL(2, Z), where we relate the …  Lire la suite

Gignac, Alain (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

The bitter mention of foreign tyrants in Mark 10:42-43a has long been interpreted as an accurate description of "pagan" life that contrasted with life in ideal Christian community. More recently, it has been read as a piece of rhetoric aimed at imperial Rome. These explanations are too simple, since they do not take into account the fact that contrasting ideal authority with stereotyped foreign tyranny was an established habit within imperial Roman rhetorical culture itself. I argue that the passage is best understood as Jewish participation in this Greco-Roman tradition. This study traces the evolution of the stereotyped image of …  Lire la suite

Cette étude examine l'utilisation des informations géographiques offertes volontairement pour visualiser les changements environnementaux de la Barbade. L'objectif de cette recherche est de déterminer la mesure dans laquelle la participation au Géoweb permet aux Barbadiens de communiquer leurs préoccupations et leurs observations concernant les changements environnementaux.Cette problématique est abordée à travers trois questions de recherche: (1) Les Barbadiens peuvent-ils utiliser le Géoweb avec succès afin de signaler les changements environnementaux?, (2) Comment les Barbadiens utilisent-ils actuellement les ordinateurs et Internet, et (3) De quelle manière les Barbadiens partagent-ils leurs préoccupations liées aux changements environnementaux? Ces questions ont été traitées en …  Lire la suite

Hogan, S. D. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

To examine factors influencing normal and disordered genesis of the B lymphocyte lineage in mouse bone marrow, precursor B cell dynamics have been analysed in conditions predisposing to B cell neoplasias and deficiencies. Double immunofluorescence labeling and stathmokinetic techniques have been used to quantitate the population size and mitotic activity of pro-B cells before $ mu$ chain expression, pre-B cells expressing cytoplasmic $ mu$ chains, and B lymphocytes expressing surface IgM. Two conditions associated with prolonged macrophage activation and B cell neoplasia, pristane oil-treatment and malaria infection, have been found to stimulate the proliferation of pro-B cells but to produce …  Lire la suite

In the canonical paradigm of quantum computing, qubits are operated via coherent manipulation, and dissipation is viewed as a problematic source of decoherence, limiting the viability of the quantum state.However, a great deal of research efforts have shown that engineered dissipation can be a powerful tool for a quantum physicist. Incoherent dynamics can drive the system to a target non-equilibrium steady-state, which can be used for state initialization, to suppress decoherence, or even to perform universal quantum computation.This thesis analyzes the dissipative dynamics of a general model in quantum information processing, the central-spin system.In Chap. 1, we introduce the central-spin …  Lire la suite

Juncker, David (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

Kennedy, Timothy E. (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

[...] This thesis will be confined to a study of the benevolent gentlemen in Dickens novels, and will attempt to answer such questions as: Who were these men? For what purpose did Dickens create them? What function do they serve in the novels? How great, or how limited, is their scope of action? Did they provide Dickens with his ultimate answers to the problems of human behaviour? Chapter I will discuss the background, origin and characteristics of the benevolent gentlemen. Chapter II will describe the benevolent gentlemen of the early novels, Mr. Pickcwick (The Picknick Papers, 1836-37), Mr. Brownlow (Oliver …  Lire la suite

Leggett, Dr. W.C.  Lire la suite

Hutcheon, Jennifer (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

The original property of Buffalo Ankerite Gold Mines, Limited, comprised three claims, ME-60, ME-6l, ME-62, lying in the north-central part of Deloro Township, Districtof Cochrane, Ontario. Recently the Company acquired five additional claims, formerly owned by Marbuan Gold Fines, Limited, which lie to the west and southwest of their olderclaims and adjoin them. [...]  Lire la suite

The Abitibi district has been a subject of interest and geological investigation since 1872 when McOuat made a reconnaissance traverse through the area. In 1904 W. A. Parks traversed the country north of Lake Temiakaming. During the years 1908, 1910 and 1911, M. E. Wilson of the Geological Survey of Canada made a general reconnaissance of the western part of the area lying between the Interprovincial Boundary and Kawagama Lake. The results of this work were published as Summary Reports of the Geological Survey of Canada together with a map on a scale of 1/255,400 (Wilson, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1913), …  Lire la suite

Results of colon surgery at the turn of the century, as compared with those of the present day, show great improvement in recent years. This improvement has been due to many factors, the most important of all being the careful preoperative preparation of the patients. Formerly, patients were admitted to the hospital and in a day or two were operated on. The bowels were full of faeces and teeming with bacteria, and as a result the mortality after operation often ranged from sixty to seventy per cent, even in the hands of the best surgeons. In the past fifteen or …  Lire la suite

The doctoral thesis investigates the impact of legal mobilization and judicial decisions on official minority-language education (OMLE) policy outside Quebec using a model of judicial impact derived from New Institutionalism theory. The New Institutionalism (NI) model of judicial impact synthesizes the dominant approaches to judicial impact found in the US literature, which are reviewed in Chapter Two, and transcends them by placing them within a framework based on the New Institutionalism. The model, as developed in Chapter Three, proposes that certain factors will increase the probability of judicial decisions having a positive influence on policy, such as whether incentives are …  Lire la suite

Le poly(chlorure de vinyle) (PVC) est l'une des matières plastiques les plus importantes produites aujourd'hui, car il s'agit d'un polymère relativement peu coûteux et extrêmement polyvalent. Le PVC peut être traité et formé de diverses manières, mais pour produire des films et des feuilles de PVC en grandes quantités, le calandrage est presque toujours la méthode de production préférée. Le calandrage est une technique par laquelle une masse chauffée de thermoplastique peut être transformée en film ou en feuille en la pressant à travers des rouleaux cylindriques chauffés. Il existe actuellement une limite supérieure à l'épaisseur des films qui peuvent …  Lire la suite

In the northwestern part of Canada there lies a region of 734,566 square miles, equal to about one-fifth of the entire area of the Dominion, occupied by 19,375 people. This sub-Arctic region, north of the 60th parallel of latitude and west of the 102nd meridian of longitude, is virtually a Dominion within a Dominion. Designated herein as the Northwest, this great expanse of mountains, plains and plateau comprises the entire Yukon Territory and the District of Mackenzie, Northwest Territories. This vast region first came into prominence in 1789 as a result of Alexander Mackenzie's famous journey to the mouth of …  Lire la suite

The effects of dibutyryl 3'; 5' cyclic monophosphate (dbcAMP) on several parameters of transformation were studied using a Kirsten sarcoma virus (Ki-MSV)-transformed mouse cell line (K-A31). Treated cells showed changes in morphology, decreased motility, saturation density and growth rate, and lost the capacity for anchorage-independent growth. In contrast to many other transformed cell lines, fibronectin and an elaborate cytoskeleton were present in K-A31 cells. The transcription of the proviral genome was examined using both reverse-transcribed and nick-translated ('3)H-DNA probes, and certain viral-specific RNAs were found restricted to the nucleus of dbcAMP-treated cells. Additive hybridization experiments suggested these RNAs were transcribed …  Lire la suite

Unilateral brain-damaged adults with hemiplegia were given a series of verbal and non-verbal written stimuli and their copying responses were quantitatively scored according to five separate criteria by two independent judges. It was hypothesized that patients with left hemisphere lesions (right hemiplegia and aphasia) would be most deficient in verbal copying and that patients with right hemisphere lesions (left hemiplegia) would be most deficient in non-verbal copying. There were no significant differences between left hemiplegics without aphasia and right hemiplegics with aphasia. The copying of block capital letters was easiest and the less familiar geometric shapes most difficult for both, …  Lire la suite