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North Yarmouth, Maine Annual Report 2003, North Yarmouth (Me.). Board Of Selectmen

Maine Town Documents

Original scanned reports courtesy of the University of Southern Maine

Collaborative Research: Origins Of Cods On Georges Bank: Contributions Of Early Developmental Stages For The Scotian Shelf, David W. Townsend, Irv Kornfield, Linda Kling

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Recent work in the Georges Bank-Gulf of Maine area has documented significant, and apparently episodic, fluxes of Scotian Shelf Water (SSW) from the Nova Scotian continental shelf to Georges Bank. SSW is a relatively cold and fresh water mass with a significant component from the St. Lawrence River, and is commonly identifiable with temperature-salinity analyses of hydrographic data and in satellite images of sea surface temperature. One such flux episode was observed last March (1997) in satellite imagery and from shipboard hydrographic sampling on Georges Bank. Qualitative at-sea analyses of ichthyoplankton sampled on the March cruise revealed a remarkably tight …

The Agent Institute: Develop An Infrastructure For Agent-Based Research And Development For The State Of Maine, George Markowsky, James L. Fastook, Elise Turner, Roy M. Turner, Laurence Latour

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award provides support to establish The Agent Institute (AI), an organization anticipated to become self-sustaining and generally enhance research and development for the State of Maine. The AI will promote interactions between industry and foster computer-technology research, specifically in software development and software-hardware relationships in the area of robotics. Industrial applications in extreme or hazardous environments will be emphasized because agent-based systems are designed to read/sense environmental information, make decisions, and take actions based on the information sensed and processed.

The award provides an initial two years of salary support to hire an executive director and an administrative assistant. …

Maine Campus December 11 2003, Maine Campus Staff

Maine Campus Archives

No abstract provided.

Maine Campus December 08 2003, Maine Campus Staff

Maine Campus Archives

No abstract provided.

Maine Campus December 04 2003, Maine Campus Staff

Maine Campus Archives

No abstract provided.

Composition And Function Of A Novel Consortial Endosymbiosis In The Shipworm Lyrodus Pedicellatus, Daniel L. Distel

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Enormous quantities of wood and other woody plant materials
(including leaves, bark, shoots, stems and nuts) are produced annually in
the environment. In fact, cellulose, the major component of woody
materials, is thought to be the most abundant biological material on earth.
This remarkably strong and enduring molecule is a polymer of glucose
(sugar) linked by a type of chemical bond that makes it indigestible to
most living organisms. Therefore, this rich source of food energy is
available to only a few animals (e.g., termites and ruminants) that can
digest cellulose with the aid of microbes living in their guts. …

Surface "Waves" On Byrd Glacier, Antarctica, D. Reusch, Terence J. Hughes

Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

Byrd Glacier has one of the largest ice catchment areas in Antarctica, delivers more ice to the Ross Ice Shelf than any other ice stream, and is the fastest of these ice streams. A force balance, combined with a mass balance, demonstrates that stream flow in Byrd Glacier is transitional from sheet flow in East Antarctica to shelf flow in the Ross Ice Shelf. The longitudinal pulling stress, calculated along an ice flowband from the force balance, is linked to variations of ice thickness, to the ratio of the basal water pressure to the ice overburden pressure where Byrd Glacier …

Minerva 2003, The Honors College

Minerva

This inaugural issue of Minerva includes an article on the inauguration of the University of Maine Honors College; a discussion of Honors Living-Learning communities, Colvin and Balentine Halls; and an article on the introduction of the Honors Read tutorial course. Other highlights include an article on Honors travel to Washington D.C. and Chicago.

Mr432: The Business Climate For Biotechnology In Maine, Thomas G. Allen, Todd M. Gabe

Miscellaneous Reports

This report presents the findings from a survey of biotechnology firms located in Maine. The purpose of the survey, conducted during the spring of 2003, was to collect information on a variety of issues related to the companies. operations and the state.s business climate for biotechnology. Some of the issues addressed in the survey include the research and development activities of Maine biotechnology companies, partnerships formed within the biotechnology industry, and the companies’ participation in government-sponsored business assistance programs. The survey results present a “snapshot” of the industry in 2002, which can be used to establish a baseline against which …

Molecular Padlock Assay Of Crude Plant Leaf Extracts For Detection Of Listeria Monocytogenes, Allison L. Hurlburt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A molecular padlock assay was developed and assessed for detection of Listeria monocytogenes that operated in crude plant extracts. The molecular padlock assay was developed by Liu et al. (1996) and modified by Lizardi et al. (1998). We further modified and described a padlock probe that detected L. monocytogenes oligonucleotide, cDNA and genomic DNA containing a 16s rRNA sequence (GenBank Acc. No. X56 153). This technique was effective in the presence of crude potato leaf extracts in contrast to PCR, which failed to detect the presence of L. monocytogenes targets in crude leaf extracts. Sensitivity of the padlock procedure was …

Specific Dynamic Action, Growth And Development In Larval Atlantic Cod, Gadus Morhua, Jessica A. Geubtner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The larval stage of marine fish is a period of rapid growth and development. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) are approximately 4-5 rnm in length upon hatch and feed endogenously from their yolk sac for the first week. After this time, larval cod must successfully capture live prey to survive and to fuel high growth rates of greater than 10%d". Previous studies have found that during exogenous feeding and at growth rates greater than 8%d1 larvae experience what appears to be cost free growth, where mass specific metabolic rate does not decrease with increasing mass. Due to size and condition constraints …

An Egocentric Spatial Data Model For Intelligent Mobile Geographic Information Systems, Christopher E. Frank

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals in unknown locations, such as utility workers in the field, soldiers on a mission, or sightseeing tourists, share the need for an answer to two basic questions: "Where am I?" and "What is in front of me?Because such information is not readily available in foreign locations, aids in the form of paper maps or mobile GISs, which give individuals an all-inclusive view of the environment, are often used. This panoptic view may hinder the positioning and orienteering process, since people perceive their surroundings perspectively from their current position. In this thesis, I describe a novel framework that resolves this …

Query-By-Pointing: Algorithms And Pointing Error Compensation, Farhan Faisal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

People typically communicate by pointing, talking, sketching, writing, and typing. Pointing can be used to visualize or exchange information about an object when there is no other mutually understood way of communication. Despite its proven expressiveness, however, it has not yet become a frequently used modality to interact with computer systems. With the rapid move towards the adoption of mobile technologies, geographic information systems (GISs) have a particular need for advanced forms of interaction that enable users to query the geographic world directly. To enable pointing-based query system on a handheld device, a number of fundamental technical challenges have to …

The Role Of Larval Thermal Tolerance In The Distribution Of Blue Mussel Species Within The Gulf Of Maine, Susan J. Limbeck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two species of blue mussel, Myrilus edulis and Myrilus trossulus, are sympatric throughout much of the Canadian Maritime Provinces and into the Gulf of Maine. While the distribution of M edulis extends south to the Mid-Atlantic, that of M. trossulus ends abruptly in the Gulf of Maine. I have hypothesized that these differences in adult distribution are the result of species-specific variation in larval thermal tolerances. Previously, it has been shown that when reared at 20 OC, from 36 hour post-fertilization through settlement, M. trossulus had significantly higher mortality rates than M. edulis. This study examined whether species-specific differences in …

Analysis Of The Spatial Dynamics Of The American Lobster (Homarus Americanus) Fishery Along The Coast Of Maine, Kevin M. Scheirer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) supports the most valuable commercial fishery in the northeastern United States, thus the fishery is critical to Maine's economy. No systematic study has been done to collect information about, identify, and quantify the spatial dynamics of the Maine lobster fishery. This project helps to provide a better understanding of Maine's lobster fishery dynamics, and it will aid f'iture efforts to improve the stock assessment of Maine's lobster fishery. The analysis consists of three distinct parts: (1) comparison of data collected by two separate fishery dependent sampling programs; (2) spatial analysis of electronic logbook data; and …

Hazardous Beach-System Development In Maine And Some Outcomes Of The Sand Dune Rules, Julia M. Knisel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Damages to coastal property in southwestern Maine occur primarily as a result of storms, flooding, and erosion. Maine implemented the Sand Dune Rules in 1983 to protect sand dunes and mitigate coastal property damages. Prior to this study, no indicators of the outcome of these rules were identified or evaluated to determine the effectiveness of their implementation. Assessed building values (1987), National Flood Insurance Program claims and payments (1 978- l998), and sand dune permits (1 984- 1998) for development in Kennebunk and Saco, Maine were evaluated. A geographic information system was created to determine if (1) development on or …

Structural And Kinetic Characterization Of Myoglobins From Eurythermal And Stenothermal Fish Species, Peter William Madden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teleost myoglobin (Mb) proteins from four fish species inhabiting different temperature environments were used to investigate the relationship between protein function and thermal stability. Mb was isolated from yellowfin tuna (homeothermal warm), mackerel (eurythermal warm), and the Antarctic teleost Notothenia coriiceps (stenothermal cold). Zebrafish (stenothermal tropical) myoglobin was expressed from cloned cDNA. N. coriiceps Mb cDNA has also been cloned, expressed at 20°C , and isolated from E. coli, but was not used in any of the functional and kinetic studies. These proteins differed in oxygen affinity, as measured by O₂ dissociation rates and P₅₀ values, and …

The Use Of Semipermeable Membrane Devices (Spmds) For Monitoring Dioxin Levels In Maine Rivers, Bjorn Anders Lake

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine's Department of Environmental Protection has been monitoring dioxidfuran levels in Maine rivers using fish tissue analysis since the 1980's. Effective December 3 1,2002, pulp and paper mills in Maine must not discharge any toxic congeners of dioxindfurans into local surface water. The test prescribed in the law (38 M.R.S.A. § 5420) requires the concentration of dioxins or furans in fish (or surrogate) collected downstream of a mill cannot exceed fish monitored upstream from a mill. The purpose of this project is to determine if SPMDs are a better procedure for monitoring dioxin levels in accordance with the upstrearddownstream test. …

Can Dairy Manure Be Profitably Composted In Maine?, Anne Grant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Manure contains many important nutrients that are vital to the growth of crops. When this material is applied to fields in an inappropriate manner or in quantities too large for the soil to handle, this leads to pollution in the form of leaching and runoff, which causes contamination of ground and surface waters. An average cow produces one hundred pounds of manure per day (1 8 tons per year). Composted manure could provide farmers with a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional manure management practices. A review of the composting literature determined that a wide variety of markets do exist …

Convergent Validity Of Conjoint Values For Farmland Conservation Easement Programs, Semra Ozdemir

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conversion of farmland has recently become an important policy issue in the US. Between 1982 and 1997, over seven million acres of prime farmland was converted to developed land in the US, which is a 3% decrease in total farmland. This is also the case in Maine, where forty thousand acres of prime farmland has been converted to non-farm uses over the same time period. This constitutes about an 8% decrease in total farmland, where farmland is only 6% of the total land in Maine. A decrease in the amount of farmland, along with the increased public support for farmland …

Mechanistic Studies Of The Oxidation Of Lignin And Cellulose Models, Oh-Kyu Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oxygen delignification is an environmentally friendly pulp bleaching system. To develop a selective delignification process that results in high DP retention of carbohydrate with lignin being removed, obtaining better knowledge of reactions occurring during oxygen delignification is essential.

In this work, mixtures of guaiacol (model lignin) and methyl-ß-D-glucoside (model cellulose) were reacted in a pressurized oxygen reaction system (pH 12,65 psi O₂, and 95°C in a glass reaction vessel). In the results, methyl-ß-D-glucoside degraded only in the presence of lignin. This indicates that hydroxyl radicals, that subsequently react with methyl-ß-D-glucoside, are generated in the system. Unfortunately, we could …

Development And Assessment Of A Spatial Decision Support System For Conservation Planning, Sean Murphy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land conservation is frequently cited as the most effective means of limiting the detrimental effects of anthropogenic forces on natural resources. Because governmental entities can be hampered by fiscal and political concerns, land trusts are increasing relied on to protect habitat. However, these groups often lack the analysis and research tools necessary to meet their mission. Geographic Information System (GIs) technologies such as Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) offer the promise of allowing decision makers to explore their decision space at a landscape level of analysis. But critics have charged that research in this arena is largely anecdotal in nature. …

Pond-Breeding Amphibian Species Distributions In A Beaver-Modified Landscape, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Maine, Jesse Cunningham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In order to maintain pond-breeding amphibian species richness, it is important to understand how both natural and anthropogenic disturbances affect species assemblages and individual species distributions both at the scale of individual ponds and at a larger landscape scale. The goal of this project was to investigate what characteristics of ponds and the surrounding wetland landscape were most effective in predicting pond-breeding species richness and the individual occurrence of wood frog (Rana sylvatica), bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) and pickerel frog (Rana palustris) breeding sites in a beaver-modified landscape and how this landscape has changed over …

The Effect Of Whole Wild Blueberries On Endothelial Function Of The Sprague-Dawley Rat As Related To Cardiovascular Disease, Cynthia Ann Norton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weanling male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly fed three different diets (n=8 per group), a control diet (AIN '93) (C), a blueberry diet (B) for 13 weeks and a reverse diet (R)(C for 13 weeks, switched to B for 8 weeks). Aortae were excised, rings were prepared, and two intact and two denuded rings were immersed in tissue baths containing physiological salt solution (PSS) at 37OC, aerated with 95% 0 2 and 5% CO2 (pH 7.4). Following equilibration and pre-conditioning under 1 Sgm preload, cumulative dose response curves were generated with six doses of the a-1 adrenergic receptor agonist L- Phenylephrine …

A Mass Balance Study Of The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Vandy Blue Spikes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present state of the West Antarctic ice sheet (WAIS) is a prime concern of science, but its large size and remote location have limited the amount of reliable data that are available for mass balance calculations. The spatial pattern of mass balance for a 100-km² portion of the WAIS is estimated by calculating the residual flux of ice through 1-km grid cells organized into a geographical information system (GIs). The input data used for this estimate include continent-scale compilations of ice thickness and snow accumulation rate measurements, and ground-based measurements of snow accumulation rate and ice velocity. The …

Determination Of Residential-Use Turf Pesticides In Surface And Ground Water By Hplc/Dad, Danyun Zhu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A simple. relatively fast, and efficient method has been developed for the simultaneous detection of residual levels of the pesticides dithiopyr, fenoxaprop-1'-e~hyl, l~alofenozide, and oryzalin in surface and ground water. This method involves solid phase (SPE) extraction/clean-up of these pesticides from water, followed by detcction and quantification by a high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) equipped with a photo diode array detector (DAD). The recoveries for dithiopyr, fenoxaprop-l'-c~I~yl. halofenozide, and oryzalin were performed by fortifying ground water from 0.1 ppb to 100 ppb, and surface water from 0.2 ppb to 100 ppb. For ground water, percent recoveries ranged from 89 to …

An Investigation Of The Cumulative Impacts Of Shrimp Trawling On Mud Bottom Fishing Grounds In The Gulf Of Maine: Effects On Habitat And Macrofaunal Community Structure, Anne W. Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the widespread occurrence of trawl fisheries on mud-bottoms, there is limited knowledge concerning the effects of trawling induced disturbance on these habitats and their resident macrofaunal communities. I investigated the cumulative impacts of seasonal commercial shrimp trawling on infaunal habitat and macrofaunal community structure on two mud-bottom fishing grounds in the Gulf of Maine from June 2000 - December 2001. One fishing ground located near the Outer Pumpkin Ledges (Pumpkin) experienced trawling activity during the 2000-2001 fishing season. In contrast, the other fishing ground near Monhegan Island was not trawled during the same period because shrimp abundances were low. …

A Comparison Of The Ecological Integrity Of Headwater Streams Draining Harvested And Un-Harvested Watersheds In The Western Mountains Of Maine, U.S.A., Darlene Siegel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of four headwater streams draining forested watersheds were compared to determine the effectiveness of Riparian Management Zones (RMZs) in protecting aquatic ecological integrity from the effects of forest harvesting. Two of the watersheds were harvested with a 30% sheltenvood cut and a 75 foot buffer was left adjacent to the streams. The other two watersheds were un-harvested and were used as reference conditions for comparison with the harvested watersheds. General environmental conditions in these four headwater streams during the study period were characterized as follows. Each stream was located within a mixed- wood forest dominated …

The Role Of Cognitive Factors In The Development Of Seasonal Affective Disorder Episodes, Stacy Whitcomb-Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent literature on Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has begun to focus on diathesis stress models, including Young and colleagues' (1 991) Dual Vulnerability Hypothesis (DVH). The DVH posits that individuals must possess both a biological vulnerability to developing vegetative symptoms and a psychological vulnerability to developing mood symptoms in order to develop SAD episodes. Such a model addresses SAD as well as non-seasonal depression, and suggests that there may be an as yet unidentified group suffering fiom only the biological vulnerability (i.e., winter anergia). However, until very recently few studies have directly tested this model, and most have focused on …