McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par R

Objective: To compare low birth weight (LBW) (< 2,500g) between infants born to adolescent and adult mothers in Iquitos, Peru. Methods: A random sample of 4,467 birth records was collected. Multivariate analyses were performed to compare both the proportion of LBW and mean birth weight of newborns of adolescents (10-14 yrs, 15-19 yrs) and adults (≥ 20 yrs) and then for primiparous mothers only. Results: For all mothers, all adolescents had significantly greater odds of having a LBW infant than adults. For primiparous mothers, the same was true only for 10-14 year-olds. There were significant differences in mean birth weight …  Lire la suite

Reevaluation of organosulfur heats of formation resulted in the conclusion that the sulfur-sulfur bond of aliphatic disulfides is nearly 15 Kcal/mole stronger than the disulfide carbon-sulfur bond energy. Semi-empirical calculations using AM1, MNDO and MINDO/3 from the AMPAC program package confirmed these results and clarified their relative impact on organosulfide and disulfide properties. Existing organoselenium bond energy data were also reevaluated and erroneous assumptions discovered. New bond energy estimates were made via a new procedure. It was concluded that the selenium-selenium bond is also stronger than the selenium-carbon of aliphatic diselenides. The above results led to the conclusion that loss …  Lire la suite

Spicer, Jonathan (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

The catabolism of steroid hormones and compounds, though not perhaps as worthy of attention as their anabolism or manner of biological synthesis, is a subject which has interested investigators for many years. It embraces the problem of the manner in which such a structure as the steroid nucleus might be completely dismembered in the living cell as well as the possibility that such a structure may undergo metabolic alterations rendering it more or less active with respect to a particular physiological property. [...]  Lire la suite

The rat vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) contains one putative consensus sequence for protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation on a serine residue. The present experiments tested whether phosphorylation of VAChT by activation of PKC via phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) could affect the uptake and subsequent K+-evoked release of [3H]acetylcholine from rat hippocampal slices. No change in release was found. PMA also had no effect on the decreased release of [3H]acetylcholine caused by vesamicol, a noncompetitive inhibitor of acetylcholine uptake into synaptic vesicles. In addition, immunoprecipitation of VAChT and probing of western blots with an antiphosphoserine antibody showed no phosphorylation of the …  Lire la suite

There has been many changes in the structure of the North American society within the past twenty years.  Lire la suite

Tak Pan Wong (Internal/Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The effects of multiple arrivals on the intelligibility of speech produced by live-sound reinforcement systems are examined. The intent is to determine if correlations exist between the manipulation of sound system optimization parameters and the subjective attribute speech intelligibility. Given the number, and wide range, of variables involved, this exploratory research project attempts to narrow the focus of further studies. Investigated variables are delay time between signals arriving from multiple elements of a loudspeaker array, array type and geometry and the two-way interactions of speech-to-noise ratio and array geometry with delay time. Intelligibility scores were obtained through subjective evaluation of …  Lire la suite

Objectives. While multi-attribute decision-making underpins many everyday choices, how attribute-values are integrated to allow such choices remains unclear. Findings from our lab argue for a distinction between elemental (attribute-by-attribute) and configural (holistic) evaluation of multi-attribute options. We have shown distinct neural substrates of evaluation of complex objects under elemental and configural conditions when value is predicted by visually distinct value-predictive attributes. Here, we asked if there are behavioral or gaze pattern hallmarks distinguishing these two forms of multi-attribute decision-making. Informed by widely-used multi-attribute decision-making models, candidate behavioral outcomes were selected and compared within-subject across elemental and configural value-based decision conditions. …  Lire la suite

[...] It is in response to these three facts that parents become concerned with and involved in preparing their son to choose: (1) there is a real choice to be made, (2) the choice is a critical one in terms of its implications for future social status, and (3) there is the expectation that it is the son, and not the parents, who will make it. The involvement is inevitable insofar as the process of occupational choice has its roots back in childhood when the child is very much under the control and influence of the parents. The process of …  Lire la suite

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a chronic movement disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. This report looks at TS through the eyes of three families and two adults diagnosed with the syndrome. The social and psychological reactions and adjustment to the disorder are examined. Three approaches were used to explore the issues: a literature review; field notes and unstructured biographical interviews. Social and psychological reactions include: depression, withdrawal and suicidal ideation. Unresponsiveness on the part of the health care and social service systems contributed to feelings of anger, powerlessness, guilt and shame. The families' and individuals' ability to lobby for …  Lire la suite

Novel approaches to thermal vaporization sample introduction for inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometry using techniques with demountable sample supports are presented and compared. Developments and applications are presented for two sample introduction arrangements that use interchangeable sample probes in contact-free heating environments: direct sample insertion (DSI), and induction heating-electrothermal vaporization (IH-ETV). For the well-established technique of DSI, studies focused on the development and application of a pyrolytically coated graphite sample support, a feature common to conventional ETV systems. A process for coating sample probes in the ICP discharge was developed, and improvements were seen in both the reproducibility of the …  Lire la suite

The starting point of this study is the history of the reception of the German romantic writer E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) in Russia, which reached a highpoint around 1830. The interest in Hoffmann at this time is also reflected in the literary production of some Russian authors. One of the most important pioneers in this area was Antonij Pogorel'skij (1787-1836), at the present time an almost forgotten writer who, nevertheless, is regarded as the first significant representative of the so-called "Russian Hoffmannism." This study sets out to analyze two comparable short stories, E. T. A. Hoffmann's "Der Sandmann" (The …  Lire la suite

Rationale. There is a need for the development of a field test to evaluate exertional dyspnea in the primary care setting. This study examined the applicability of a 3-minute constant rate step test in patients with COPD. Methods. This test involved 4 stepping rates (18, 22, 26, 32 steps.min-1) equivalent to approximately 4.5, 5.3, 6.0, and 7.2 MET with the ultimate goal that in its final development, the assessment will be made a single stepping rate based on disease severity. Stable COPD patients (N = 43; 65 +/- 6.5 years; FEV1 = 49 +/- 16% pred.; SpO2 (%) rest: 95 …  Lire la suite

En positionnant la Deuxième guerre mondiale comme un moment clé de l'histoire slovaque contemporaine, cette étude soutient que l'émergence d'un état slovaque allié aux nazis (1939 – 1945) mais aussi la révolte de 1944 (connue sous le nom de « Soulèvement national slovaque » [SNS]) furent deux épisodes essentiels pour la formation d'idéaux sociopolitiques dans la société slovaque d'après-guerre. Peu étudiés et mal compris dans l'historiographie anglo-américaine, la création de l'état slovaque et le SNS représentent les seules réponses slovaques aux ruptures sociétales majeures introduites par la fragmentation géopolitique et la guerre, d'abord à la suite des accords de Munich …  Lire la suite

Developmental screening tests greatly improve the accuracy of identifying children with developmental delay. We prospectively tested whether parent-completed questionnaires can be effectively used in the setting of a busy ambulatory pediatric clinic to accurately screen for developmental impairments. We also assessed not only the accuracy of two screening instruments (Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ and the Child Development Inventory (CDI)) but also whether the pediatrician's opinion regarding the child's development could be used as a potential modifier to improve accuracy. The goal would be to devise a screening paradigm that is both time-efficient and practical. Three important conclusions were reached: …  Lire la suite

The earliest description of oesophageal atresia as a pathological entity was given by William Durston (1) in 1670. The first typical case of oesophageal atresia with tracheo-oesophageal fistula was recognized by Thomas Gibson (2) in 1697. Since then an increasing number of reports appeared. In 1861 Hirschsprung (3) presented 10 cases of oesophageal atresia in 1880 Mackenzie (4) collected 37 cases, in 1919 Plass (5) collected cases reported to that date numbering 136. Rosenthal (6) in 1931 reviewed the world literature pertaining to the subject and collected 255 cases. In the last 25 years the malformation has been recognized with …  Lire la suite

The theme of this dissertation has been to look at characteristics of neurogenesis of the interneurons of mammalian telencephalon, mainly in the striatum and cortex, and compare with neurogenesis patterns of projection neurons. In addition, we have looked at developmental postnatal anterograde thalamostriatal survival mechanisms of striatal neuronal populations and their possible implications in Huntington's disease. Interestingly, most if not all interneurons of the striatum and cortex, at least in case of rodents, are generated far from the germinal zones of these telencephalon divisions. Parvalbumin- and calretinin-positive interneurons, which represent major GABAergic interneuron subpopulations in striatum and cortex originated in …  Lire la suite

This essay deals with what is commonly called the Canadian 'money market'. Money Market is not a highly refined phrase in the same sense as are 'income-elasticity of demand' or 'marginal efficiency of capital'. Rather it is part of that colourful but mystifying language that is heard in the City, on Wall Street, and on St. James and Bay Streets. [...]  Lire la suite

Isolation, death, rebirth: the rites of passage experienced by the main characters in La nuit (Ferron), La notte (Antonioni) and Le Grand Yaka take place in the course of the night, which prompts the search for their own identity. "Tell me about your nights, and I will tell you who you are" could be the motto of Francois, Lidia, Giovanni and Lepetit. Whether in the realm of dreams or reality, these three stories depict a universe devoid of humanity, where lost souls try to surmount crises and seek truth in their nightly adventures. Gradually, the night---a world of infinite possibilities---will …  Lire la suite

An electret radiation dosimeter for long-term personnel monitoring is described. The design of this prototype (a modified parallel-plate ionization chamber) and the associated isothermal electret charging technique are presented. In the charging process, an external voltage causes ions created in air by the passage of radiation to move towards, and become trapped on, a dielectric (e.g., Mylar, Teflon) that covers the measuring electrode, forming an electret. Once the external voltage is removed, the field across the sensitive volume is produced by the electret charge, such that during subsequent irradiation, ions opposite in sign to those on the electret surface are …  Lire la suite

This thesis explores the relationship between the National Film Board and its audiences, with particular attention to the ways in which the NFB has tried to respond to the needs of Canadians for media representations of themselves, through the Challenge for Change program (1967-1978) and Studio D (1974-). The focus of this work will be on the progressive aspects of NFB productions, which have frequently taken controversial stands against official government policy. In the process, the place of the NFB within a politics of representation will be discussed, and its critical contribution to the constitution of a Canadian "national identity" …  Lire la suite

Harpp, D. N. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Blostein, Mark D (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Komarova, Svetlana (Supervisor3)  Lire la suite

While the concept of multipotentiality is often referred to in the giftedness literature, implicit and explicit definitions of the concept change from author to author. Additionally, few empirical studies have been done to provide support for the many anecdotal claims made about multipotentiality. The present nine-year follow-up study (N = 180) of gifted youth (mean age = 20.2 years) provides evidence that many gifted individuals may indeed be multipotentialed. The definition of multipotentiality ("the ability and desire to pursue different activities and goals") used to operationalize the concept was validated by six experts in the field. Degree of multipotentiality was …  Lire la suite

Perceiving a visual object often leads to the formation of its representation in memory. In this case, the role of visual perception in memory is emphasized, but it is also conceivable that memory plays a role in the processing of a visual stimulus in a top-down manner. One way to study whether memory does influence visual perception is to make use of the selective adaptation method designed to produce aftereffects. In a typical selective adaptation experiment, a stimulus is presented for an extended period of time (adapting stimulus) and this results in a temporary distortion in the perception of subsequent …  Lire la suite

Dans cette thèse, un modèle hydride des collisions d'ions lourds est construit. Ce dernier contient une étape précédent l'équilibre thermique (l'étape de pré-équilibre) dont la dynamique est décrite par le model IP-Glasma. L'étape suivante de l'évolution est dirigée par l'hydrodynamique visqueuse, ainsi que par l'interaction de jets de grande impulsion transverse avec ce milieu hydrodynamique. En fin, toutes les particules, autant du jet que celles du milieu hydrodynamique, sont hadronisées et leur interaction antérieure est gouvernée par un modèle de transport hadronique. La dynamique pré-équilibre (IP-Glasma) est formulée via l'équation Yang-Mills classique décrivant l'évolution de la distribution des gluons, qui …  Lire la suite