Alfalfa is an important forage crop in North America which can also escape cultivation and establish in unmanaged habitats. Genetically modified (GM) alfalfa has been approved for environmental release in Canada and the United States and the occurrence of alfalfa in unmanaged natural and semi-natural habitats may compromise the successful co-existence of GM and non-GM alfalfa. To-date, little information has been available on the nature and dynamics of roadside alfalfa populations and their ability to become feral. Such knowledge is necessary to design efficient trait confinement protocols and to enhance the co-existence of GM and non-GM alfalfa within agricultural regions. The overall aim of this work was to characterize roadside alfalfa populations and to establish their role in novel trait movement. A roadside survey revealed the widespread occurrence of feral alfalfa populations in southern Manitoba. We described the seedbanks of roadside alfalfa populations, seedling recruitment and adult reproductive success, indicating that alfalfa is capable of establishing self-perpetuating feral populations in unmanaged habitats. We also noted the successful establishment of alfalfa in a grass sward representing roadside vegetation. Roadside mowing can reduce (and perhaps prevent) seed production in roadside alfalfa; however, mowing failed to drive the populations to extinction in the short-term. Herbicide (2,4-D) applications controlled alfalfa plants but seeds in the seedbank may still contribute to new seedling recruitment. The roadside alfalfa populations we worked with exhibited high levels of genetic diversity, indicating an absence of past population bottlenecks or genetic drift. In addition, phenotypic characterization provided evidence that roadside alfalfa populations were experiencing selection pressure for adaptive traits including winter survivability, rhizome production and prostrate growth habit; all traits that favor persistence in unmanaged habitats. We also noted the occurrence of high (>60%) levels of outcrossing in feral alfalfa populations, establishing their role as sources and sinks for novel traits. Our findings indicate that alfalfa populations occurring in unmanaged habitats need to be considered in trait confinement protocols in order to reduce the adventitious presence (AP) of novel traits and to enhance the successful co-existence of GM and non-GM alfalfa.

No description available.

The study of resilient children has overturned many deficit focused models about the ontogenesis of children raised in adversity. Resilience research has flourished over the last three decades, and emphasis on the development of resilience skills are increasingly being incorporated into prevention programs. This study explores whether youth identified as resilient are as likely as those identified as vulnerable to engage in excessive gambling behaviour, and to examine the impact of several risk and protective factors on gambling severity among adolescents. The sample consisted of 1,273 students aged 12-19. The results suggest that vulnerable youth, low in resilience, are more likely to meet diagnostic criteria for problem gambling. There were no significant differences between resilient and low risk-exposure groups suggesting that the individual protective factors examined in this study may prevent maladaptive outcomes. These findings were interpreted with respect to their implications for resilience and prevention research.

Photocopy of typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1978. / Bibliography: leaves 116-126. / Microfiche. / viii, 126 leaves

This thesis began largely as an exploration into right-wing political ideology and its relationship to The Authoritarian Personality proposed by Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswick, Levinson and Sanford (1950). It had initially been envisaged that contemporary examples would manifest themselves within many neo-Fascist or ‘White Pride’ style organisations and as an adage to their supposed historical underpinnings, would therefore be representative of modern day authoritarianism. As previously discovered by Eysenck and Coulter (1974) in their examination of British Fascists and Communists, the authoritarian syndrome is somewhat more complex to explain by way of reference to a number of radical semi-political organisations. Subsequently, the thesis was to take on a deeper and more philosophical direction as various parts of the literature were analysed and critiqued. And indeed to some extent the original proposal was abandoned in favour of a richer and more conceptual approach to our understanding of authoritarianism. This was discovered to be distinctly missing from the majority of the current literature in the field.

[Abstract]: Crown rot (causal organism: Fusarium pseudograminearum) is a significantdisease affecting wheat in Australia. Although first reported over 60 years ago, the disease has become more prevalent in recent years due to the adoption ofminimum tillage and stubble retention practices. Breeding for resistance to crown rot is difficult - phenotypic selection, which is usually done at harvest, istime-consuming, expensive, and subject to between year variability due to sensitivity to environmental conditions. For these reasons, the coupling ofmolecular techniques with conventional plant breeding (marker-assisted selection) has the potential to more rapidly and reliably identify genomic regionsthat contribute to resistance. The objective of this study was to identify, validate,and pyramid quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance to crown rot present in aW21MMT70 x Mendos doubled haploid wheat population.Replicated seedling trials were conducted in 2001, 2003, and 2005. In eachseedling trial, W21MMT70 displayed partial resistance to crown rot whereasMendos seedlings were susceptible. A bulked segregant analysis (BSA), using390 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers chosen for their coverage of thewheat genome, was initially conducted based upon the 2001 seedling trial data inan attempt to rapidly identify genomic regions associated to resistance. The BSAdid not reveal any markers associated with resistance to crown rot. As a result, afull mapping study was conducted. One hundred and twenty eight (128) SSRmarkers were mapped across the population to produce a framework map.Previously screened AFLP markers were added to the map. Composite intervalmapping revealed eight QTL associated with resistance. Of these, three (locatedon chromosomes 2B, 2D, and 5D) were consistently detected in each of the threeseedling trials. Two QTL (on chromosomes 1A and 3B) were detected in two ofthe three trials. The 2D, 3B, and 5D QTL were inherited from W21MMT70,whereas the 1A and 2B QTL were inherited from Mendos.Two software programs were used to identify epistatic interactions betweenQTL. While the results of the two programs differed markedly, both programsdetected a highly significant interaction between the W21MMT70 inherited 5DQTL and a locus on chromosome 2D inherited from Mendos. The overall effectof the epistatic interactions was not as great as the additive effects of nonepistaticQTL. Nonetheless, the presence of epistasis may indicate that,particularly in the case of 5D, the effect of this QTL may be dependent on thebackground into which it is introgressed.Validation of three W21MMT70-inherited QTL (on chromosomes 2D, 3B, and5D) was conducted on three F2 populations with W21MMT70 as one of theparents. While the 5D QTL was validated in two of the three crosses, neither the2D nor the 3B QTL were detected in any of the F2 validation populations. It islikely that the size of the F2 populations (the largest composed of 94 individuals),in conjunction with the variability that is inherent when screening for resistanceto crown rot, precluded validation of these regions. Validation of the 2BMendos-inherited QTL was conducted on a Sunco x Batavia doubled haploidpopulation because Sunco possesses the same Triticum timopheevi 2B introgression that is present in Mendos. This validated QTL (designatedQ.CR..usq-2B2) explained 11 % of the phenotypic variance in the Sunco xBatavia population.To assess the effectiveness of pyramiding QTL for resistance to crown rot, a 2-49x W21MMT70 population was examined. A number of lines of this populationperformed significantly better than each of the parents in the replicated seedlingtrial that was conducted. Four QTL, located on chromosomes 1A, 1D, 2D, and3B, were detected. The 1A and 1D QTL were inherited from 2-49 whereas the2D and 3B QTL were inherited from W21MMT70. The 1A QTL from 2-49 hasnot been previously validated, and this QTL has been designated QCr.usq-1A1.The 3B QTL (designated QCr.usq-3B1) had the highest effect (LRS 42.1;explaining 21.0 % of the phenotypic variance) in the 2-49 x W21MMT70population. The 2D QTL (QCr.usq-2D1) was shown to have a minor effect. The5D QTL that was inherited from W21MMT70 in the W21MMT70 x Mendospopulation was not detected in the 2-49 x W21MMT70 population. A number ofpossible explanations for the inability to detect this QTL in the 2-49 xW21MMT70 population are discussed.

Thesis (MEd)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Also available in print.

Thesis (MEdPsych)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.