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Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Somatic embryogenesis (SE) can be induced in vitro in Medicago truncatula 2HA by auxin and cytokinin but not in wild type Jemalong. Wild-type Jemalong will only form callus in the presence of auxin and cytokinin and both Jemalong and 2HA will form roots in response to auxin alone. The F2 analysis of 2HA X Jemalong crosses suggest that a single gene may open the way to SE but additional genes are required to maximise the process. Auxin and cytokinin are required for 2-3 weeks for SE and for de novo root formation auxin is essential for about one week. Abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene, both stress related hormones, enhance SE induction but inhibit callus and de novo root formation. The WUSCHEL (WUS) gene was investigated in M. truncatula (Mt) and identified by the similarity with Arabidopsis WUS in amino acid sequence, phylogeny, promoter element patterns, and expression patterns in planta. MtWUS is induced by cytokinin after 24-48 h in embryogenic cultures and maximum expression occurs after 1 week which coincides with totipotent stem cell induction. MtWUS expression, as illustrated by promoter-GUS studies, subsequently localises to the embryo and corresponds to the onset of MtCLV3 expression. RNAi studies show that MtWUS expression is essential for callus and somatic embryo production. There is evidence based on the presence of MtWUS promoter binding sites that MtWUS is required for the induction of MtSERF1 which appears to have a key role in the signalling required for SE induced in 2HA. MtWOX5, as for MtWUS, was identified by similarity to Arabidopsis WOX5 based on amino acid sequence, phylogeny, promoter element patterns, and expression patterns in planta. MtWOX5 expresses in the auxin induced root primordium and root meristem and appears to be involved in pluripotent stem cell induction. GA suppresses the MtWOX5 expression in the root apex and suppresses the root primordium induction, consistent with the importance of MtWOX5 in in vitro root formation. The evidence is discussed that the homeotic genes MtWUS and MtWOX5 are “hijacked for stem cell induction which is key to somatic embryo and de novo root induction. In relation to SE, a key role for WUS in the signalling involved in induction is discussed and a model developed.

I live in a society where a state of multi-tasking and over-stimulation is common. I am inundated with excessive information and seemingly addicted to distraction. My love affair with hi speed digital devices devours all sense of time and space. But in the process of making all information available to everyone, all the time, we are losing our connection with the value of direct experience. What I can see, feel, taste, smell, touch and hear is losing significance and with this loss I am becoming isolated from my own nature and perhaps even my own body. In response to this contemporary condition this thesis proposes a place dedicated to rediscovering our innate sense of rhythm and to re-connecting with our place in the cosmos. This is not intended as a rejection of current technologies, but rather a place that examines the potential of architecture to bring us into the present moment. In doing so we are able to attend to the experience of being in our body and moving from moment to moment in the world; we learn to slow down and enjoy the incremental life of our senses. The site for this exploration is an island in the rocky landscape of the Canadian Shield. Known as Twin Island, this place is the site of my family's cabin where I spend each summer. The journey to the island and the place itself are both a physical and spiritual symbol of transformation; of disconnecting then re-connecting. Architecture is used as an instrument to heighten one’s awareness of the primordial power of water, stone, fire and darkness to spark the cosmological imagination. Sinking deeply into her bed she penetrates earth, rock and ancient memory. Here, she finds her place. This is ‘architecture minimum’; we are simply sheltered within the expanse of the universe.

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A major unanswered question in neuroscience is whether there exists genomic variability between individual neurons of the brain, contributing to functional diversity or to an unexplained burden of neurologic disease. To address this question, we developed methods to amplify genomes of single neurons from human brains, achieving >80% genome coverage of single-cells and allowing study of a wide-range of somatic mutation types.

Goal of work: evaluate and analyze the factors that have an impact on the quantity of the somatic cells in cow‘s milk. Objectives of work: 1. To select and collect the data of the milk tests of the cows under observance when the lactation was over, taken in 2003-2004. 2. To describe the collected data by setting the diversity of age and breeds of cows under observance and evaluating the greatness of farms. 3. To estimate statistically and describe the impact of such factors as breed, age, season, greatness of farm, type of sample collection and the person taking it, impact on the quantity of the somatic cells in the milk of the observed cows. Conclusion: Statistically, the breed and age of an animal influence upon the quantity of the somatic cells in milk. The least number of the somatic cells can be detected in the milk of the cows that are young or used to the local keeping and feeding conditions. 1. The greatest quality of milk from the perspective of the somatic cells is achieved in grand farms that keep over milking cows. 2. The influence of the person taking a sample on the quantity of the somatic cells in milk is confidential statistically. The right order of taking a sample has a crucial meaning to the further investigations on the productivity of cows. It is recommended to organize a periodical training of the control assistants and the owners of the observed cows, putting emphasis on the importance of the right way of taking a sample.

The objective of the first part of this study was to observe and describe the profile of test-day somatic cell counts throughout a lactation in individual cows, and to examine the correspondence between such profiles and various lactation measures of cell count presently available. The objective of the second part of the study was to obtain estimates of the genetic and phenotypic parameters of lactation measures of cell count in different lactations, possibly for use in a breeding program. / In the first part of the study, the lactation cell count profiles of eighteen Holstein heifers of the Macdonald College Herd were individually examined. Weekly cell counts were expressed as deviations from the herd test-day average and plotted against week of test. A labile cell activity was found for most of the plotted lactations. The cellular responsiveness of cows facing external challenges seemed a trait peculiar to each individual. Lactation measures of cell count were unable to give good descriptions of cell count profiles of individual cows. However, they were better expressions of the lactation cell count performance than single test-day observations. / In the second part of the study, monthly cell count observations were obtained between February, 1977, and February, 1982, for the Holstein cows in herds enrolled on the official option of the Quebec Dairy Herd Analysis Service. Maximum likelihood, I-MINQUE (iterative Minimum Norm Quadratic Unbiased Estimation), and multivariate REML (Restricted Maximum Likelihood) procedures were used for the estimation of genetic and phenotypic parameters. / Repeatabilities of log test-day cell counts and log of test-day cell counts corrected for milk yield varied between 0.36 and 0.42 in first, second, third, fourth, and fifth and later lactations. Repeatabilities of test-day cell counts (cells/ml) in the five lactation groups varied between 0.17 and 0.25. Repeatabilities of lactation expressions for cell count between lactations ranged from 0.13 to 0.44. / Heritabilities of lactation expressions of cell count were low and varied from 0.06 to 0.14 in the five lactation groups examined; however, the genetic correlations between lactations were very close to unity, 0.90 to 0.97.

Triticum aestivum is of major importance both nutritionally and economically globally. Traditional breeding mechanisms have been unsuccessful at keeping pace with the increasing demand for better yielding and more resilient wheat varieties. The introduction of foreign genes into systems has provided a new tool for crop improvement, but has been difficult to apply to elite wheat varieties mainly as result of their recalcitrance to prerequisite tissue culture. Investigations here demonstrate that modification of the ammonium nitrate content in direct somatic embryogenesis induction medium can increase the number of primary embryos produced by over two fold in the elite hard red wheat cultivar Superb. The number of primary embryos which were capable of transitioning into shoot development also increased by two fold. Biolistic transformation efficiency was also improved when targeted scutellar tissue was exposed to elevated ammonium nitrate levels. / x, 81 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

Infection data were obtained monthly from June, 1999 to September, 2000 at the University ofKentucky dairy. Quarter foremilk samples were collected for bacteriological determination andsomatic cell counts (SCC). The Livestock Stress Index (LSI) estimated heat stress and is calculatedby combination of temperature and humidity. For uninfected quarters the geometric mean SCC was29,000 cells/ml. For infected quarters the geometric mean SCC was 213,000 cells/ml. Coagulasenegativestaphylococci (CNS) infections comprised 61 percent of the total infected quarters with ageometric mean SCC of 155,000 cells/ml. Staphylococcus aureus infected quarters had a geometricmean SCC of 680,000 cells/ml. There were no significant correlations between log SCC and LSIwhen looking at the total sample period. However, evaluating October, 1999 through September,2000, significant correlations were found for LSI and log SCC of uninfected quarters (P andlt; 0.05) and`infected quarters (P andlt; 0.0001). All correlation coefficients were less than 0.12. The results suggest nomarked changes in SCC were observed in uninfected quarters during hot summer weather. Hotsummer weather may have a minor impact on SCC in infected quarters, but the effect is variable.Thus, infection status of the mammary gland, not heat stress, is the major factor determining SCC.

Bakgrund: Patienter med psykisk sjukdom har en ökad risk att utveckla somatisk sjukdom. Antalet vårdtillfällen inom psykiatrisk slutenvård har ökat under det senaste decenniet. Sjuksköterskan ska kunna observera, åtgärda och hantera patientens såväl psykiska som fysiska omvårdnadsbehov och hon ska även ha en helhetssyn och ett etiskt förhållningssätt. Sjuksköterskan har även en skyldighet att arbeta utifrån vetenskap och beprövad erfarenhet. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda patienter med somatiska tillstånd inom psykiatrisk slutenvård. Metod: Denna studie är en empirisk intervjustudie som har genomförts med en deskriptiv kvalitativ ansats. Halvstrukturerade intervjuer med fyra sjuksköterskor verksamma inom psykiatrisk slutenvård utgör materialet till denna studies resultat. Materialet har analyserats med en manifest innehållsanalys. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i tre huvudkategorier vilka beskriver informanternas upplevelser. Kategorierna är: 1) Upplevelser kring somatisk omvårdnad, 2) Vikten av kunskap samt 3) Samarbetet mellan den psykiatriska och somatiska sjukvården. Slutsats: Majoriteten av studiens informanter upplever att det somatiska omvårdnadsarbetet är svårhanterligt. Deras resurser är begränsade när somatiskt sjuka patienter vårdas på avdelningen. Det finns även en upplevelse av att det är svårt att hålla sig uppdaterad gällande somatiska kunskaper och att det därför finns ett behov av fortbildning avseende dessa. Informanterna upplever även att vården är uppdelad trots att vissa patienter är i behov av kompetensen och yrkeskunnandet från både den somatiska och psykiatriska sjukvården. Klinisk betydelse: Förhoppningen med studiens resultat är att ge en ökad insikt kring vilka faktorer som påverkar sjuksköterskans upplevelser av att vårda patienter med somatiska tillstånd inom psykiatrisk slutenvård. / Background: Patients with mental illness are at increased risk for physical illness. The number of patients that are admitted to the psychiatric inpatient care has increased over the past decade. The nurse should be able to observe and manage the patient's mental need as well as their physical needs. They should also have a holistic and ethical approach and their work should be based on evidence and science. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore nurses' experiences regarding the care of patients with somatic conditions in psychiatric inpatient care. Method: This study is an empirical study with a descriptive qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with four nurses working in a psychiatric inpatient ward. A manifest content analysis was used to analyze the interview material. Results: The analysis emerged into three main categories which describe the experiences of the nurses. The categories are: 1) Experiences of somatic care, 2) The importance of knowledge and 3) Cooperation between the psychiatric and somatic care. Conclusion: The majority of the nurses in this study felt that the somatic care was difficult. Their resources are limited when somatically ill patients are admitted to the ward. They also experience that it is hard to keep the knowledge updated regarding somatic care and that there is a need for training. The nurses also felt that health care was divided between the somatic and the psychiatric care, although some patients are in need of the expertise and professionalism from both the somatic and psychiatric care. Clinical significance: The results of the study may contribute to provide a greater understanding of which factors that influence nurses' experiences of the care of patients with somatic conditions in psychiatric inpatient care.