McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par Ç

Fortin, M. G. (Advisor)  Lire la suite

The subject of this thesis is the "San Andres Agreements on Indigenous Rights and Culture". Born out of a process of negotiation between the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), the Mexican government and various representatives of civil society, these agreements reflect and attempt to incorporate in the constitution, for the first time in Mexican history, individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples. Through ethnography and discourse analysis, the thesis addresses the political, economic and ideological issues underlying the exchanges between the various parties to the negotiations. It presumes a dominant government discourse and a marginal discourse advanced by the zapatista …  Lire la suite

Patricia Dobkin (Supervisor2)  Lire la suite

Hayward, Vincent (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

In a normal inflammatory response, the polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) is recruited to a site of injury or infection through a sequence of events that include margination, rolling, adhesion, diapedesis and chemotaxis. These processes become dysregulated in SIRS, sepsis and MODS. Septic patients demonstrate decreased PMN exudation to peripheral sites and an absence of a C5a chemotactic gradient across the intravascular and extravascular environments. Using both in vitro and in vivo PMN transmigration assays, we evaluated the role of an intact C5a gradient on human PMN recruitment to peripheral inflammatory sites in sepsis. We demonstrated in vitro that a C5a gradient …  Lire la suite

Distraction osteogenesis is a form of in vivo tissue engineering used to lengthen bone. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are known mediators of bone formation during the distraction of enchondral bones. Their role in the distraction of membranous bones remains unknown. A rabbit model was used to characterize the expression of BMP-2, 4 and 7 during mandibular distraction osteogenesis. Fourteen animals were subjected to a defined distraction protocol. At weekly intervals, two rabbits were sacrificed and the generate bone harvested for radiographic, bone densitometric, histologic and immunohistochemical analyses. The results demonstrate that during distraction, bane forms primarily by intramembranous ossification. BMP-2 …  Lire la suite

Individuals with mental health problems (MHP) have, historically, experienced challenges with participating in physical activity and exercise (PAE). While programs have been created to promote PAE participation for individuals with MHP, it remains unclear how they may participate in PAE within the community. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of PAE participation in the community for adults with comorbid MHP. The overarching research question was: How do individuals with MHP participate in community PAE? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six adults with comorbid MHP for this single instrumental case study. Each person was participating in an …  Lire la suite

Kristof, Arnold Scott (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Lire la suite

Spin dynamics in pulsed Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy are studied theoretically using spin density operator formulation. The theory exploits the use of irreducible spherical tensor (multipole) operators of spin angular momentum in developing alternative treatments to spin dynamical problems. Applications in spin decoupling and soft pulse dynamics are considered, giving new analytical solutions for the complete density matrix. The focus of the thesis, however, is on the development of two distinctly new methods of solution to the quantum Liouville equation for NMR field modulation. The first method derives a linear integral equation for the magnetization and provides a rapidly …  Lire la suite

Les ruptures bicaténaires de l'ADN représentent la plus importante sorte de dommage à l'ADN car elles peuvent causer de l'instabilité génomique, des mutations délétères, et même la mort cellulaire si la réparation est défectueuse. Plusieurs études, dont la plupart sont effectuées chez la souris et l'humain, démontrent que les ruptures bicaténaires de l'ADN ont un effet important dans le développement embryonnaire précoce et la reprogrammation des cellules somatiques lors de la production des cellules iPS. Cependant, l'occurrence et l'effet des ruptures bicaténaires de l'ADN, et le mécanisme de réparation des ruptures bicaténaires de l'ADN, n'ont jamais été caractérisés systématiquement pendant …  Lire la suite

In addition to a proper radar calibration, quantitative estimation of precipitation from VHF radars requires the extraction of the precipitation signal out of the Doppler spectra. It also requires the proper conversion of this precipitation signal into a reflectivity factor. This research develops a multi-faceted approach for the calibration of VHF vertically-pointing radars, by combining a first calibration method that compares the recorded VHF signal to power coming from a noise generator and a second calibration method that compares recorded VHF signal to cosmic radiation. This approach allows the retrieval of antenna and receiver parameters (such as noise levels, efficiency, …  Lire la suite

La cartographie quantitative de la susceptibilité magnétique (QSM, Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping) est une modalité d’IRM qui permet d’estimer la distribution de susceptibilité du tissu. La QSM part du principe que les variations dans les données complexes mesurées par la résonance magnétique perturbations du champ induites par la susceptibilité dans la région d’intérêt (ROI). Ainsi, la QSM calcule la distribution de susceptibilité en résolvant le problème inverse de la dérivation de la distribution de susceptibilité à partir de la perturbation du champ magnétique dans les données brutes, qui est un problème inverse mal-posé. Pour résoudre ce problème inverse, les données brutes …  Lire la suite

Une société minière a le potentiel d'extraire de la valeur supplémentaire grâce à des stratégies de gestion, par exemple, la gestion de portefeuille de projets. Dans le secteur minier, la gestion de portefeuille de projets peut être interprétée sous deux formes pour une grande société minière cotée en bourse : (1) la société reçoit des propositions de projets de ses mines (par exemple, expansion, remplacement d'équipement, projets sociaux et nouveaux projets d'exploration) ; ou (2) le projet passe d'une étape à une autre (par exemple, de l'autorisation à l'exploration, de l'exploration au développement, du développement à l'exploitation et de l'exploitation …  Lire la suite

Intercomparison among three sensors for ground-based measurement of DSD's are presented, the Joss-Waldvogel Distrometer (JWD), the Optical Spectro-Pluviometer (OSP), and the Precipitation Occurrence Sensor System (POSS). This is done in order to quantifying any systematic bias that can be identified in their measurements, and to evaluate a new data acquisition system developed for the JWD. Data corresponding to stratiform, continental rain is analyzed, and a function (delta) is defined in order to provide a quantification of the relative differences between pairs of instruments. Significant differences in drop concentrations simultaneously measured by the instruments are found, being these about 100% at …  Lire la suite

Schistosoma mansoni and Fasciola hepatica are parasitic trematodes which contain cytochrome c peroxidase (CcP) in their mitochondria, an enzyme that is absent in mammalian tissues. CcP reduces hydrogen peroxide to H2O using cytochrome c as the electron donor. Both parasites are catalase deficient; thus, cytochrome c peroxidase and glutathione peroxidase are the enzymes involved in the detoxification of H2O 2 in these organisms. The enzymatic activity of these two peroxidases may enable S. mansoni and F. hepatica to survive oxidative stress. The main objective of this study was to characterize cytochrome c peroxidase from S. mansoni and F. hepatica . …  Lire la suite

The usefulness of RAPDs (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) to distinguish among different taxa of Lotus was evaluated. The following species were included: L. corniculatus, L. tenuis, L. alpinus, L. japonicus, and L. uliginosus. Several accessions for each species were studied. Following DNA extraction, amplification reactions were performed in a Hybaid DNA Thermal Cycler, and the product visualized according to a standard procedure. Twenty primers were used for each species/accession. Clear bands and several polymorphisms were obtained for all primers. A phenogram was drawn based on the genetic distance among the species. L. alpinus appears as the most distant species from …  Lire la suite

Les cas de violences politiques sont généralement considérés comme les conséquences de la polarisation affective. Cependant, peu de recherches ont été menées pour déterminer si ces cas de violence produis de violence ou créent des opportunités de dialogue entre les partisans de différents « camps » idéologiques. Afin d'examiner l'effet de la violence politique sur les niveaux de polarisation affective, cette étude examine l'effet causal du meurtre, Jo Cox députée britanique, sur les niveaux de polarisation affective et sur l'identitée partisane. Plus précisément, cette étude examine l'association du meurtre de Cox et de la collection des données de l'étude électorale …  Lire la suite

With the improvement of working conditions in asbestos industries and the recognition that asbestos exposure is widespread, the asbestos controversy has shifted in the 1980s to the general environment. To assess lung cancer risks due to environmental asbestos exposure, risks in past asbestos workers have been extrapolated linearly to exposures 100,000 times smaller than historical occupational levels. Despite their enormous health and economic impact, such risk assessments have not been validated to this day. This is the first study to compare the risk of lung cancer in a population non-occupationally exposed to asbestos with those predicted by the U.S. Environmental …  Lire la suite

Vankeerberghen, Griet (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of eating disorder symptoms and differences in exercise motivations in female distance runners at various exercise investment levels. One hundred and seven distance runners, aged 19 to 59 years, who run a minimum of five kilometers, three times per week, were asked to complete three questionnaires. The runners across exercise investment levels were not found to differ in Eating Disorder Inventory sub-scale scores. They differed from college women only in exhibiting fewer symptoms on Drive for Thinness (p < .05), Body Dissatisfaction (p < .001), and Interoceptive Awareness (p < …  Lire la suite

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), expressed in parathyroid, thyroid and kidney, is essential for maintenance of calcium homeostasis. Extracellular calcium (Ca2+o) affects several hepatic functions including bile secretion, metabolic activity, regeneration, and the response to xenobiotics. We have demonstrated the presence, in hepatocytes, of a functional CaSR. Western blot analysis using a specific CaSR antibody showed staining in both whole liver and hepatocyte extracts. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization of rat liver sections showed expression of CaSR protein and mRNA by a subset of hepatocytes. CaSR agonists, gadolinium (Gd3+; 0.5-3.0 mM) and spermine (1.25-20 mM), in the absence of Ca2+o, elicited …  Lire la suite

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common and lethal genetic disease affecting various organs such as lungs, pancreas and intestine. The intestinal disease severity widely varies among patients and plays a critical role as it regulates body weight gain, the characteristic growth deficit of these patients which is of great importance as it predicts for lung disease and survival. Modifier genes, apart from the disease causative gene, regulate the intestinal phenotype. Our objective was to use CF mice to identify genes or pathways influencing the severity of CF intestinal disease to better our understanding of the disease pathogenesis and to provide …  Lire la suite

The mechanism of action of erythropoietin (EPO) and the effects of different cyclic nucleotides on hemoglobin synthesis have been studied using a serum-free system of fetal calf liver cells. dbcAMP, dbcGMP and cCMP stimulated hemoglobin synthesis at different concentrations, and their effects were quite different depending on the type of hemoglobin being synthesized. The analysis of (alpha) and (gamma) chains by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) indicated that both the (alpha) and (gamma) globin chains are stimulated by the three cyclic nucleotides. Furthermore, Step III sheep plasma EPO stimulated the synthesis of cGMP in fetal calf liver cells. On the …  Lire la suite

Les monstres ont toujours existé. Dès la formation des sociétés, des monstres apparaissent en périphérie, symbolisant le péril, la différence et l’inconnu. En incarnant ce qui dépasse l’ordinaire, le monstre met en évidence la frontière de l’acceptable, démontrant comment la différence devient motif de dégoût et d’exclusion envers ceux qui ne peuvent pas se conformer. Il n’est pas surprenant que des individus marginalisés s’intéressent aux récits de monstruosité dans un tel contexte. Susan Stryker, dans « My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix », assimile son expérience de femme transgenre à celle de la Créature de Frankenstein …  Lire la suite

In an effort to optimize the machining process of aerospace components such as landing gears and engine rotors, aerospace companies are utilizing Finite Element Modelling (FEM) intensively to avoid trial and error processing. To guarantee the reliability of the FE analysis, a correct material constitutive model must be identified and used. The model must describe the dynamic behavior of the work piece material under machining conditions, must describe the physical process occurring during the machining operation and must incorporate the appropriate material parameters. Therefore, a correct stress-strain relationship which can generalize the response of the material at high strain rates …  Lire la suite

In the 1950s, countless letters were sent from family members in Italy to their sons or daughters, brothers or sisters, and husbands or wives who had emigrated earlier to Canada. This research is a study of nineteen letters written in Italy between 1954 and 1955. These letters, written in the language known as "l'italiano popolare," are the primary source from which stems a linguistic analysis. As well, a brief overview of "l'italiano popolare" follows in addition to a synopsis on popular letters and on the sociohistorical circumstances surrounding Italy at the time in which the letters were written.  Lire la suite

An experimental study of spatially periodic fully developed flows of air in straight rectangular ducts with interrupted-plate inserts is presented. These flows have features similar to those produced in plate-fin passages of compact heat exchanger cores. The formulation of mathematical models and numerical solution methods for the prediction of these flows continues to be a challenging and largely unattained goal. The main goal of this work is to contribute experimental results suitable for testing and refining such models and solution methods. Airflows in nine different interrupted-plate rectangular ducts were considered. Reynolds numbers considered (based on Kays and London's definition of …  Lire la suite

The expression of the c-fos proto-oncogene during normal and pathological bone development was studied. The regulation of c-fos expression in bone cells by calcitriol and its contribution to the etiology of fibrous dysplasia was addressed. We have shown that treatment of osteoblasts with calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, transiently stimulated the expression of c-fos, fos-B, c-jun and jun-B in a specific and dose-dependent manner. The expression of the Fos protein correlated with the expression of the c-fos gene. Finally, calcitriol appeared to modulate c-fos transcription in osteoblasts, whereas it stimulated c-jun and jun-B expression by a post-transcriptional mechanism …  Lire la suite

Dans cette thèse, nous présentons une théorie géometrique des formes modulaires à valeurs dans un fibré vectoriel attachées aux représentations de Weil et nous nous intéressons plus particulièrement aux formes modulaires de poids demi-entier. Plus précisément, nous construisons un champs 'métaplectique' et des fibrés vectoriels $\mathcal{V}_m\otimes\underline{\omega}^{k/2}$ au dessus de ce champs, dont les sections sur C nous donnent des formes modulaires à à valeurs dans un fibré vectoriel de poids k/2 attachées aux réseaux de rang 1 munis d'une forme $x\mapsto mx^2/2$ avec $m\in 2\mathbb{Z}_{>0}$. Le champs métaplectique est un champs de courbes elliptiques dotées d'une forme quadratique non-dégénérée de …  Lire la suite

Les formes de Maass faiblement harmoniques ont recemment trouve des applications dans plusieurs domaines des mathématiques. Elles fournissent un cadre pour la théorie des ``Mock Modular forms" de Ramanujan, surviennent naturellement dans l'etude de la surjectivite de la correspondance de Borcherds et leurs coefficients de Fourier semblent donner des informations arithmetiques sur les derivees des tordues quadratiques de certaines fonctions L associees aux formes modulaires. Jusqu'a present, les formes de Maass faiblement harmoniques ont uniquement ete etudiees en tant qu' objets analytiques sur les nombres complexes. L'objectif de cette these est de les decrire dans un cadre algebrique plus conceptuel, …  Lire la suite

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults and is one of the most lethal human cancers. This is due to its highly vascularized and invasive nature, which makes complete surgical resection and treatment difficult. O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), a DNA repair protein ubiquitously expressed in normal human tissues, plays a vital role in protection against alkylating agents used in GBM treatment. While MGMT is known to exert its DNA repair function (alkyl transfer) independently of other proteins, increasing evidence suggests a role of MGMT as an ancillary protein mediating additional functions through interactions with binding partners …  Lire la suite

Cette dissertation examine les politiques de moralité qui ont structuré le développement moral de formes médiatiques de masse et spécialisées entre les années 1930 et la fin des années 1970 aux États-Unis. Dans le but de comprendre comment les médias sont devenus enchevêtrés dans des luttes morales, ce travail s'amorce en localisant la croissance de la régulation morale dans le cinéma, la télévision et la radiodiffusion des années 1930 et 1940, et les façons dont la performance en direct, l'enregistrement ciblé, et les radios parrainées par des auditeurs ont autorisé des formes d'expression gravitant autour du genre, de la sexualité, …  Lire la suite

De 2015 à 2018, le Grand Collisionneur de Hadron (en anglais : Large Hadron Collider – LHC) a accéléré des faisceaux de protons à une énergie de centre de masse inédite de √s = 13 TeV pour les faire entrer en collision. Le détecteur ATLAS a enregistré une luminosité intégrée de 139fb−1 de ces collisions. Ces données offrent une opportunité unique permettant aux physicien·ne·s de tester le Modèle Standard de la physique des particules en mesurant des processus rares encore jamais observés. La production tri-bosonique Wγγ est l’un de ces processus rares. Sa sensitivité aux couplages trilinéaire et quartique de …  Lire la suite

Fyles, James W. (Supervisor1)  Lire la suite

This thesis analyzes the People's Republic of China's modernization strategy in order to test the hypothesis according to which the "open-door" policy might represent a shift from Marxism to a Neoclassical economy model. To do so, the author compares the performance realized by the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and by the newly established Shanghai-Pudong New Area (1990). Although it benefits from the fourteen year old SEZs experience, it is argued, Pudong duplicates the flaws inherent to the SEZs and fails to offer advancement over their development. The author then suggests that China's initial objective to build a strong modern socialist …  Lire la suite

Reading comprehension processes are assumed to be influenced by reading purpose and working memory capacity (WMC). However, it is still unknown how these factors affect comprehension processes in young readers. The aim of this study was to explore whether cognitive processes varied as a function of reading purpose (test versus game) and WMC (high versus low) in young readers. The 39 participants completed the Working Memory Test Battery for Children (WMTB-C), a verbal protocol and a free-recall task. Separate ANOVAs on cognitive processes response categories detected medium effect sizes. In the free recall task, test condition readers exhibited more paraphrasing …  Lire la suite

The action of acids on the phosphorus compounds of the soil is probably one of the oldest processes studied by soil investigators. [...] The plant is believed to absorb its phosphorus as inorganic phosphate, and hence a study of the soluble inorganic fraction would seem to be of great practical importance. According to this view the decomposable organic fraction must be mineralized in the soil to inorganic form in order to be used by the plant. Therefore the uptake of phosphorus by plants is likely to be regulated by the nature of the soil inorganic phosphorus complex. [...] Since soils …  Lire la suite

This research investigated Carl Jung's theories as a means of understanding dreams and their relationship to personality structure. Jung's theories are shown to be consistent with recent theories of dream function and with research findings concerning dreaming sleep. Building on previous research, a general dimension for classifying dream content--degree of archetypality--is discussed, and hypotheses are derived from Jungian theory concerning the relationship of his personality typology and neuroticism to dream recall and manifest dream content. Dream samples gathered from a non-clinical population (students, general public) were subjected to content analysis, and the results provide good support for Jung's model of …  Lire la suite

Up to the present, investigations of the organic matter characteristic of soils have not yielded much specific information respecting the major components. Individual organic compounds of a considerable variety have been isolated in small amounts. From the study of decomposing plant residues, of synthetic mixtures of isolated lignin fractions and proteins and of soil organic matter itself , it has been inferred that the major part of the latter consists of a complex of protein-like and lignin-like materials, and that a carbohydrate-like compound occurs next in amount. [...]  Lire la suite

The tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum L., a native fruit of tropicalical America, is one of our most pop1lar vegetables. It ranks next to the potato and sweet potato in total value and first among the perishable vegetables, Thompson (1949). It is grown by a large percentage of market gardeners and truck growers and is the leading canning crop. [...]  Lire la suite

The pioneer work in the field of in vivo studies of the corticosteroids present in adrenal venous blood vas carried out by Vogt (1943). She collected the adrenal venous blood from a heparinized dog and tested the blood plasma for cortical activity by biological aasay and found that adrenal glands produce large amounts of material with corticoid activity relative to the amount extractable from the tissue.  Lire la suite

The biochemistry of the steroid hormones continues to engage the efforts of a large number or research workers. Excellent reviews of steroid biochemistry which have appeared in the past few years include those of Lieberman and Teich (1), Roberts and Szego (2) and Samuels (3). The genesis of the adrenocortical secretions has been exhaustively and capably reviewed by Hechter and Pincus (4) and Pincus (5).  Lire la suite

The recent inauguration of conservation of wild life in North America has focussed the attention of zoologists on the breeding grounds of ducks and geese on this continent. In most instances these areas are situated in Canada and it is here that the problems concerning the health of these birds are important. It is fairly safe to say that the major infestations by internal parasites are contracted in the breeding grounds due to the tremendous numbers of birds congregated in a comparatively small area. This is undoubtedly the case when infestations are present in young birds. Although our knowledge of …  Lire la suite

A considerable amount of work has been done on toxicity by various workers but no definite, satisfactory method of expressing a definition has yet been devised. That an insecticide should be efficient in killing the insects against which it is used goes without saying, but it is difficult to frame a satisfactory definition of toxicity, which, in the case of a contact poison, is concerned with the inherent killing value of the poison as it comes in contact with the exterior of the insect's body. The chief object of these experiments is to develop a simple method of comparing contact …  Lire la suite

Following the discovery, about 70 years ago, that wood could be pulped by heating in bisulphite solutions, the sulphite process has grown rapidly to an important world industry. During this development, commercial improvements were stressed, and until comparatively recent times, the theoretical issues involved were largely neglected. In this field, much has been accomplished, so that a sound basis is provided for the present work. In a difficult problem such as this, complicated by the heterogeneity of wood as well as by the uncertain chemical atructures and properties of many of its constituents, close co-operation between the organic and physical …  Lire la suite

This thesis examines sonata-form movements from symphonies composed between 1800 and 1899, analyzing dynamic markings and orchestration at the beginning of the exposition, the end of the development, and the beginning of the recapitulation. The thesis divides into three large sections: first an introduction to the topic and an explanation of theoretical concepts (Chapters 1-2), then detailed analyses of the recapitulations in 14 symphonic sonata-form movements (Chapters 3-5), followed by a corpus study of 483 sonata-form movements from 256 nineteenth-century symphonies and a general conclusion (Chapter 6). The main goal of the project is to address two questions: in what …  Lire la suite

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that results in the specific destruction of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. Inherited familial forms of PD have been strongly associated to several genetic recessive mutations in genes such as PINK1; however, previous studies utilizing Pink1-/- mice have failed to recapitulate a PD-like phenotype. Recently, a novel function for the PINK1 protein was discovered wherein PINK1 inhibits mitochondrial antigen presentation (MitAP) on MHC I in macrophages exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), suggesting that PD may be immunological in nature and influenced by external factors such as infections. Furthermore, a growing body of evidence has …  Lire la suite

Les réseaux sans-fils émergents doivent êtres capables de satisfaire la demande pour les quantités de données qui ne cesse d'accroître. Cette demande provient de plus en plus d'usagers hautement mobiles qui éprouvent des canaux à évanouissement temporellement variable et progressif de fréquences (doublement sélectif). Les systèmes à Entrées Multiples, Sorties Multiples (MIMO) et relai coopératif ont été développés pour satisfaire à cette demande; cependant, leurs performances dépendent fortement de l'exactitude de l'Information sur l'État du Canal (CSI) afin de maximiser leurs efficacités. L'estimation du canal doublement sélectif complique la tâche d'obtenir précisément le CSI puisque de nombreux paramètres du canal …  Lire la suite