The Construction Professional’s Kanohi Kē: The Road to Purpose-Fit Selection for New Zealand

Author(s):  
Andries van Heerden ◽  
Gregory Chawynski ◽  
Janette Bartolo-Doblas ◽  
Michelle Burger
Keyword(s):  
The Road ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
DW Cooper

Immunocontraception involves eliciting an immune response against eggs, sperm or hormones so that successful reproduction is prevented. Work in Australasia is aimed at European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), house mice (Mus musculus), common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), koalas (Phascolartcos cinereus) and kangaroos (Macropus spp.), with the vaccines involved all containing self antigens or their relatives. Two fundamental problems have been inadequately addressed in this research. The first problem is that it is difficult to obtain strong immune responses against self antigens and so the vaccines may be ineffective. Most published data on the effect of immunocontraceptives on reproduction involve the use of an adjuvant of which there are many kinds. The materials enhance the immune response greatly. The most frequently used is Freund?s adjuvant which can cause chronic suffering. Its use on wildlife will lead to very negative public perceptions. There has been no convincing demonstration that successful immunocontraception is possible with any method of vaccination likely to be used in the field, if success is defined as contraception of a proportion of the population high enough for management requirements. If it is assumed that success can be achieved, the second fundamental problem arises with two potential consequences. Even with adjuvant, a substantial minority of the vaccinated animals remains fertile. The first consequence is that since failure to be contracepted is likely to be in part genetic, there is likely to be rapid selection for these non-responders. The method will become ineffective in a few generations. The second problem is that the offspring of the animals which breed will have altered immune responses. Their capacities to respond to their own pathogens or to harbor pathogens of other species in the same ecosystem are likely to be changed. The presence of chlamydia in P. cinereus and bovine tuberculosis in New Zealand T. vulpecula means that responses to these pathogens would have to be studied in offspring of immunocontracepted parents to ensure that the offspring were not more susceptible to them. New Zealand intentions to put an immunocontraceptive into a T. vulpecula gut worm must be viewed with caution by Australia. The eggs of transgenic worms will be easily transplanted either accidentally or deliberately back into Australia, and so infect T. vulpecula in Australia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-164
Author(s):  
Tess Moeke-Maxwell

In the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori (people of the land) and Tauiwi (the other tribe, i.e. Pākehā and other non-indigenous New Zealanders), continue to be represented in binary opposition to each other. This has real consequences for the way in which health practitioners think about and respond to Māori. Reflecting on ideas explored in my PhD thesis, I suggest that Māori identity is much more complex than popular representations of Māori subjectivity allow. In this article I offer an alternative narrative on the social construction of Māori identity by contesting the idea of a singular, quintessential subjectivity by uncovering the other face/s subjugated beneath biculturalism’s preferred subjects. Waitara Mai i te horopaki iwirua o Aotearoa, arā te Māori (tangata whenua) me Tauiwi (iwi kē, arā Pākehā me ētahi atu iwi ehara nō Niu Tīreni), e mau tonu ana te here mauwehe rāua ki a rāua anō. Ko te mutunga mai o tēnei ko te momo whakaarohanga, momo titiro hoki a ngā kaimahi hauora ki te Māori. Kia hoki ake ki ngā ariā i whakaarahia ake i roto i taku tuhinga kairangi. E whakapae ana au he uaua ake te tuakiri Māori ki ngā horopaki tauirahia mai ai e te marautanga Māori. I konei ka whakatauhia he kōrero kē whakapā atu ki te waihangatanga o te tuakiri Māori, tuatahi; ko te whakahē i te ariā takitahi, marautanga pūmau mā te hurahanga ake i tērā āhua e pēhia nei ki raro iho i te whainga marau iwiruatanga. Tuarua, mai i tēnei o taku tuhinga rangahau e titiro nei ki ngā wawata ahurei a te Māori noho nei i raro i te māuiuitanga whakapoto koiora, ka tohu au ki te rerekētanga i waenga, i roto hoki o ngā Māori homai kōrero, ā, ka whakahāngaia te titiro ki te momo whakatau āwhina a te hauora ā-motu i te hunga whai oranga.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Kuluski ◽  
Nicolette Sheridan ◽  
Tim Kenealy ◽  
Mylaine Breton ◽  
Ann McKillop ◽  
...  

1980 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
L. Corkill ◽  
W. Rumball

The problems of seed production of amenity grasses in New Zealand are considered from two aspects - (a) increasing seed potential by breeding; (b) achieving that potential by good management as practised in the Netherlands, (a) In terms of breeding, the strategies to increase seed yield depended to some degree on the species concerned. With browntop it was necessary to discard about two-thirds of the most promising genotypes because of poor heading, but the remaining genotypes flowered freely and in unison, and gave good seed yields. With fescue even the best original plants were sparsely heading, so direct selection for prolificacy has been needed. This was also carried out for perennial ryegrass, as well as selection of early-heading genotypes to avoid infection by stem rust. (b) It is suggested that areas for seed of amenity grasses in New Zealand should be used for seed production only rather than for both forage and seed as is the usual practice. Techniques used in the Netherlands could serve as guidelines to procedures. The implications of low seeding rates, good weed control, high fertilizer applications and minimum cutting or grazing in promoting strong individual plants capable of high seed yields are discussed. Keywords: Amenity grass, seed production, New Zealand, breeding, management, Netherlands, Agrostis tenuis, Festuca rubra, Lolium perenne


Author(s):  
Kim Dirks ◽  
Jennifer Salmond ◽  
Nicholas Talbot

Walking School Buses (WSBs), organized groups for children to walk to school under the supervision of adults, help reduce traffic congestion and contribute towards exercise. Routes are based largely on need, traffic safety and travel time, with exposure to air pollution not generally considered. This paper explores whether reductions in exposure can be achieved based on the side of the road travelled using data collected in Auckland, New Zealand. Exposure to air pollution was measured for a 25-min commute consisting of a 10-min segment along a quiet cul-de-sac and a 15-min segment along a main arterial road with traffic congestion heavier in one direction. Two participants were each equipped with a portable P-Trak ultrafine particle monitor and a portable Langan carbon monoxide monitor, and walked the route on opposite sides of the road simultaneously, for both morning and afternoon, logging 10-s data. The results suggest that pedestrians travelling on the footpath next to the less congested side of the road in the morning avoid many short-term peaks in concentration and experience significantly lower mean exposures than those travelling on the footpath next to the more congested side. Significant reductions in air pollution exposure could be made for children by taking into account the side of the road in WSB route design.


Author(s):  
Grace Susanne Schäfer ◽  
John D. St. George ◽  
Philippa M. Black ◽  
Ljiljana Erakovic ◽  
Bryan Pidwerbesky

Nematology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 711-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Mukuka ◽  
Olaf Strauch ◽  
Ralf-Udo Ehlers

Abstract The shelf life of biological control products based on the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora is rather short. In order to prolong shelf life, the metabolism of nematodes during storage must be reduced. This can be achieved by means of desiccation of the infective third-stage dauer juveniles (DJ). The tolerance can be increased by an adaptation to moderate desiccation conditions. Previous investigations indicate that the heritability of the desiccation tolerance is high, justifying a genetic selection for enhanced tolerance. This investigation screened the desiccation tolerance of 43 strains of Heterorhabditis spp. and 18 hybrid/inbred strains of H. bacteriophora. Dehydrating conditions measured as water activity (aw values) were produced by treating DJ with different concentrations of the non-ionic polymer poly(ethylene glycol) 600. Significant inter-specific variation was recorded between nematode strains and species. The mean tolerated aw value (MW50) ranged from 0.90 to 0.95 for non-adapted and 0.67 to 0.99 for adapted nematode populations. For selective breeding, only the 10% most tolerant individuals would be used. The lowest aw value tolerated by 10% of a population (MW10) ranged from of 0.845 to 0.932 for non-adapted nematode populations and 0.603 to 0.950 for adapted nematode populations. Adaptation significantly increased the desiccation tolerance and a weak correlation was recorded for tolerance with and without adaptations. The most tolerant nematode strains will form the basis for the foundation of a parental stock produced by cross-breeding and following genetic selection for enhanced tolerance. Thus, this investigation is another milestone on the road to domestication of H. bacteriophora for commercial use in sustainable pest management.


2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1165-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi S Dungey ◽  
A Colin Matheson ◽  
Dominic Kain ◽  
Robert Evans

The potential for breeding Pinus radiata D. Don to improve wood stiffness (modulus of elasticity, MoE) was examined by obtaining pith-to-bark cores from trees at breast height in two independent genetic trials. The effectiveness of early selection for stiffness and indirect selection on the component traits, microfibril angle (MfA) and wood density, was determined as well as the age-related changes in the genetic variation of these traits. The first trial comprised 50 open-pollinated families in the central North Island, New Zealand. The second trial comprised 20 control-pollinated families in New South Wales, Australia. The genetic control of MfA, density, and MoE was found to be high in the corewood and moderate in the outerwood. Estimated genetic correlations suggested that early selection for most traits would be successful but could be carried out slightly earlier at the New Zealand site than at the Australian site. To maximize gain in the corewood, selection for MoE and MfA would be most effective around rings 4-8. There were no adverse correlations between MoE and MfA or density, implying that selection for MoE would also improve MfA and density.


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