• Title/Summary/Keyword: Alberta

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Genomic and Transgenic Approaches to Modified Plants: Disease Resistance in the Brassica as a Model System.

  • Ekuere, Usukuma;Good, Allen G.;Mayerhofer, Reinhold
    • Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.317-323
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    • 2000
  • Molecular genetic techniques can now be applied to the development of advanced plant genotypes, either through genetic transformation or genomic approaches which allow researchers to transfer specific traits using molecular markers. In this paper, we discuss the use of these techniques towards understanding the genetics of blackleg resistance in Brassica. In a comparative mapping study between Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus, 6 R-ESTs, 7 B. napus RFLP markers and a B. napus EST were located in a collinear region of N7 (B. napus) and chromosome 1 (A. thaliana). One of the A. thaliana R-ESTs and 4 of the B. napus RFLPs co-segregated and mapped to the LmRl locus for blackleg resistance. Introgression of blackleg resistance from wild relatives is also investigated with the possibility of accelerating the introgression process via marker assisted selection.

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Hazardous Alcohol Use in 2 Countries: A Comparison Between Alberta, Canada and Queensland, Australia

  • Sanchez-Ramirez, Diana C.;Franklin, Richard;Voaklander, Donald
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.50 no.5
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    • pp.311-319
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    • 2017
  • Objectives: This article aimed to compare alcohol consumption between the populations of Queensland in Australia and Alberta in Canada. Furthermore, the associations between greater alcohol consumption and socio-demographic characteristics were explored in each population. Methods: Data from 2500 participants of the 2013 Alberta Survey and the 2013 Queensland Social Survey were analyzed. Regression analyses were used to explore the associations between alcohol risk and socio-demographic characteristics. Results: A higher rate of hazardous alcohol use was found in Queenslanders than in Albertans. In both Albertans and Queenslanders, hazardous alcohol use was associated with being between 18 and 24 years of age. Higher income, having no religion, living alone, and being born in Canada were also associated with alcohol risk in Albertans; while in Queenslanders, hazardous alcohol use was also associated with common-law marital status. In addition, hazardous alcohol use was lower among respondents with a non-Catholic or Protestant religious affiliation. Conclusions: Younger age was associated with greater hazardous alcohol use in both populations. In addition, different socio-demographic factors were associated with hazardous alcohol use in each of the populations studied. Our results allowed us to identify the socio-demographic profiles associated with hazardous alcohol use in Alberta and Queensland. These profiles constitute valuable sources of information for local health authorities and policymakers when designing suitable preventive strategies targeting hazardous alcohol use. Overall, the present study highlights the importance of analyzing the socio-demographic factors associated with alcohol consumption in population-specific contexts.

The Application of NIRS for Soil Analysis on Organic Matter Fractions, Ash and Mechanical Texture

  • Hsu, Hua;Tsai, Chii-Guary;Recinos-Diaz, Guillermo;Brown, John
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Near Infrared Spectroscopy Conference
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    • 2001.06a
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    • pp.1263-1263
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    • 2001
  • The amounts of organic matter present in soil and the rate of soil organic matter (SOM) turnover are influenced by agricultural management practice, such as rotation, tillage, forage plow down direct seeding and manure application. The amount of nutrients released from SOM is highly dependent upon the state of the organic matter. If it contains a large proportion of light fractions (low-density) more nutrients will be available to the glowing crops. However, if it contains mostly heavy fractions (high-density) that are difficult to breakdown, then lesser amounts of nutrients will be available. The state of the SOM and subsequent release of nutrients into the soil can be predicted by NIRS as long as a robust regression equation is developed. The NIRS method is known for its rapidity, convenience, simplicity, accuracy and ability to analyze many constituents at the same time. Our hypothesis is that the NIRS technique allows researchers to investigate fully and in more detail each field for the status of SOM, available moisture and other soil properties in Alberta soils for precision farming in the near future. One hundred thirty one (131) Alberta soils with various levels (low 2-6%, medium 6-10%, and high >10%) of organic matter content and most of dry land soils, including some irrigated soils from Southern Alberta, under various management practices were collected throughout Northern, Central and Southern Alberta. Two depths (0- 15 cm and 15-30 cm) of soils from Northern Alberta were also collected. These air-dried soil samples were ground through 2 mm sieve and scanned using Foss NIR System 6500 with transport module and natural product cell. With particle size above 150 microns only, the “Ludox” method (Meijboom, Hassink and van Noorwijk, Soil Biol. Biochem.27: 1109-1111, 1995) which uses stable silica, was used to fractionate SOM into light, medium and heavy fractions with densities of <1.13, 1.13-1.37 and >1.37 respectively, The SOM fraction with the particle size below 150 microns was discarded because practically, this fraction with very fine particles can't be further separated by wet sieving based on density. Total organic matter content, mechanical texture, ash after 375$^{\circ}C$, and dry matter (DM) were also determined by “standard” soil analysis methods. The NIRS regression equations were developed using Infra-Soft-International (ISI) software, version 3.11.

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앨버타 엘크협회 - (The Alberta Elk Association, AEA)

  • 한국양록협회
    • Korean Deer Journal
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    • v.7 no.3 s.41
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    • pp.125-127
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    • 2002
  • 이번호에는 캐나다의 앨버타엘크협회(The Alberta Elk Association, AEA)를 소개한다. 캐나다 내에서도 많은 협회가 있지만 그 중에서도 2000년도 제1회 ASPT(국제녹용심포지엄)이 성공적으로 열린바 있는 곳이 앨버타주로 여기에 앨버타엘크협회가 있다.

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Perceptions About Alcohol Harm and Alcohol-control Strategies Among People With High Risk of Alcohol Consumption in Alberta, Canada and Queensland, Australia

  • Sanchez-Ramirez, Diana C.;Franklin, Richard C.;Voaklander, Donald
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.51 no.1
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    • pp.41-50
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    • 2018
  • Objectives: To explore alcohol perceptions and their association hazardous alcohol use in the populations of Alberta, Canada and Queensland, Australia. Methods: Data from 2500 participants of the 2013 Alberta Survey and the 2013 Queensland Social Survey was analyzed. Regression analyses were used to explore the association between alcohol perceptions and its association with hazardous alcohol use. Results: Greater hazardous alcohol use was found in Queenslanders than Albertans (p<0.001). Overall, people with hazardous alcohol were less likely to believe that alcohol use contributes to health problems (odds ratio [OR], 0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27 to 0.78; p<0.01) and to a higher risk of injuries (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.90; p<0.05). Albertans with hazardous alcohol use were less likely to believe that alcohol contributes to health problems (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.92; p<0.05) and were also less likely to choose a highly effective strategy as the best way for the government to reduce alcohol problems (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.43 to 0.91; p=0.01). Queenslanders with hazardous alcohol use were less likely to believe that alcohol was a major contributor to injury (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.77; p<0.01). Conclusions: Our results suggest that people with hazardous alcohol use tend to underestimate the negative effect of alcohol consumption on health and its contribution to injuries. In addition, Albertans with hazardous alcohol use were less in favor of strategies considered highly effective to reduce alcohol harm, probably because they perceive them as a potential threat to their own alcohol consumption. These findings represent valuable sources of information for local health authorities and policymakers when designing suitable strategies to target alcohol-related problems.

Mindfulness-based Practices in Workers to Address Mental Health Conditions: A Systematic Review

  • Quentin Durand-Moreau;Tanya Jackson;Danika Deibert;Charl Els;Janice Y. Kung;Sebastian Straube
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.250-258
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    • 2023
  • The effectiveness of mindfulness techniques in addressing mental health conditions in workers is uncertain. However, it could represent a therapeutic tool for workers presenting with such conditions. Our objective was to assess the effects of mindfulness-based practices for workers diagnosed with mental health conditions. We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Participants included were workers with a mental health condition. Interventions included any mindfulness technique, compared to any nonmindfulness interventions. Outcomes were scores on validated psychiatric rating scales. A total of 4,407 records were screened; 202 were included for full-text analysis; 2 studies were included. The first study (Finnes et al., 2017) used Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) associated or not with Workplace Dialogue Intervention (WDI), compared to treatment as usual. At 9 months follow-up, for the ACT group, depression scores improved marginally (standardized mean difference [SMD]: -0.06, p = 0.021), but anxiety scores were worse (SMD: 0.15, p = 0.036). Changes in mental health outcomes were not statistically significant for the ACT + WDI group. In the second study (Grensman et al., 2018), no statistically significant change in mental health scales has been observed after completion of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared to cognitive behavioral therapy. Substantial heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis. This systematic review did not find evidence that mindfulness-based practices provide a durable and substantial improvement of mental health outcomes in workers diagnosed with mental health conditions.