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Articles 1 - 11 of 11
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Re-Integrating Crops And Livestock In Maine: An Economic Analysis Of The Potential For And Profitability Of Integrated Agricultural Production, Aaron K. Hoshide
Re-Integrating Crops And Livestock In Maine: An Economic Analysis Of The Potential For And Profitability Of Integrated Agricultural Production, Aaron K. Hoshide
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines the profitability of and sustainability indicators for potato and dairy farms in Maine integrating crops and livestock in two different ways. The first is inter-farm coupling, where two or more specialized producers are close enough to exchange manure applications for crops used as livestock feed. Land base is shared between farmers. The second is where farms are on-farm integrated. Here crops and livestock are raised on the same farm and manure is applied to cash crops and livestock feed crops. Face-to-face interviews with Maine producers were used to construct integrated and non-integrated representative budgets. Assuming …
Dietary Patterns Of Mediterranean Adolescents, Sandra Ellan Brussee
Dietary Patterns Of Mediterranean Adolescents, Sandra Ellan Brussee
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is renowned for its health benefits. However, adherence appears to be lessening in the Mediterranean region as rates of overweight, obesity, and chronic disease are increasing. The adoption of a "western diet" (high amounts of meats, refined grains, snacks, and fast-food products) has been termed the "Nutrition Transition". Adolescents appear to be the most affected; therefore their diets and eating patterns were examined in this study. The objectives were to study food group-based consumption of adolescents, compare average servings with recommendations from the USDA Food Guide Pyramid (FGP) and the MD Pyramid, identify and compare eating …
Implications Of Spatial Autocorrelation And Dispersal For The Modeling Of Species Distributions, Volker Bahn
Implications Of Spatial Autocorrelation And Dispersal For The Modeling Of Species Distributions, Volker Bahn
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Modeling the geographical distributions of wildlife species is important for ecology and conservation biology. Spatial autocorrelation in species distributions poses a problem for distribution modeling because it invalidates the assumption of independence among sample locations. I explored the prevalence and causes of spatial autocorrelation in data from the Breeding Bird Survey, covering the conterminous United States, using Regression Trees, Conditional Autoregressive Regressions (CAR), and the partitioning of variance. I also constructed a simulation model to investigate dispersal as a process contributing to spatial autocorrelation, and attempted to verify the connection between dispersal and spatial autocorrelation in species' distributions in empirical …
The Effect Of Dietary Manganese On Arterial Functional Properties, Anastasia Z. Kalea
The Effect Of Dietary Manganese On Arterial Functional Properties, Anastasia Z. Kalea
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Dietary manganese affects the structure and integrity of blood vessels, as well as vessel predisposition to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. In this thesis, we studied the role of manganese on the functional properties of rat aorta as defined by the endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cell pathways for adrenergic-mediated vasoconstriction and cholinergic-mediated vasodilation. Weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a manganese deficient (MnD), adequate (MnA-control group) or supplemented (MnS) diet (<1, 10-15 and 45-50ppm Mn respectively). After 14 weeks on the diet the aorta was excised and four aortic rings of three mm length were prepared from each animal. Alterations in vasoconstriction among diet groups were detected by dose-response curves to the ^-adrenergic agonist LPhenylephrine in endothelium-intact and endothelium-disrupted rings. Alterations in endothelium-dependent vasodilation among diet groups were determined by doseresponse curves to Acetylcholine. We studied the mechanism by which dietary manganese affects two different endothelium-dependent vasodilation pathways: the Larginine/ nitric oxide (NO) and the cyclooxygenase (COX) pathways. Inhibition of the enzymes for NO synthesis (NOS) with L-NMMA, and of prostanoids (COX I and II) with Mefenamic acid, determination of NOS expression, and in vitro addition of L-Arginine (substrate for NO formation) to vessel rings revealed the effect of manganese on the regulation of endothelium-mediated vasodilation and vasoconstriction. Dose-response curves to sodium nitroprusside provided data for the dietary effect on endotheliumindependent vasodilation. Supplementary dietary manganese increased adrenoreceptor-mediated vascular smooth muscle contraction, which was significantly reduced in the presence of functional endothelium. Absence of dietary manganese increased endothelial cell sensitivity to the (Xi-adrenergic vasoconstrictor agent. Manganese had a small effect on the cGMP-pathway for dilation of vascular smooth muscle but affected vasodilation primarily through an endothelium-mediated pathway, probably by preserving NO bioavailability. Inhibition of vasodilation in Mn deficiency appears to occur through an endothelium-derived vasoconstrictor, possibly thromboxane with a concomitant decrease in the synthesis of endothelium-mediated vasodilator prostanoids. Our results demonstrate that dietary manganese influences the contractile machinery of vascular smooth muscle cells and regulates the bioactivity of endothelium-mediated vasodilators to affect agonist-induced signaling pathways that participate in the regulation of vasomotor tone. This suggests possibilities for dietary intervention in blood pressure regulation.
Dynamics Of Bee And Wasp Populations In Maine Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium Angustifolium), Joseph E. Karem
Dynamics Of Bee And Wasp Populations In Maine Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium Angustifolium), Joseph E. Karem
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Conservation of natural enemies can be an effective form of pest management. If beneficial Hymenoptera, native to the area, can be protected and encouraged to multiply, the benefits of natural insect pest control might be realized. Hymenoptera as "natural enemies" as well as "pollinators" have been studied intensively in many agroecosystems worldwide. However, lowbush blueberry is not an ecosystem where ecology of Hymenoptera has been well studied. This thesis discusses two studies conducted in lowbush blueberry fields in Washington County, Maine in 1997 and 1998. In the first study, I investigated "towers" as a method for deploying insect traps along …
Age-Related Trends In Red Spruce Needle Anatomy And Their Relationship To Declining Productivity, Margaret H. Ward
Age-Related Trends In Red Spruce Needle Anatomy And Their Relationship To Declining Productivity, Margaret H. Ward
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Many species of trees undergo predictable age-related changes in foliar morphology and physiology. Age-related declines in photosynthetic rates, which may lead to decreases in productivity, have been described for numerous species. However, the physiological basis for these phenomena is unclear, as are linkages between agerelated trends in morphology/anatomy and physiology. Photosynthetic capacity in red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) may result from increased mesophyll resistance to CO2 uptake in older trees. Additional studies with other species imply that the foliage of older trees may have a lower ratio of photosynthetic to non-photosynthetic tissue and a larger proportion of xylem to leaf …
Revegetating Blackwoods Campground, Acadia National Park: Emphasis On Natural Regeneration Of Red Spruce And Balsam Fir, Cristin O'Brien
Revegetating Blackwoods Campground, Acadia National Park: Emphasis On Natural Regeneration Of Red Spruce And Balsam Fir, Cristin O'Brien
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Blackwoods Campground in Acadia National Park has a declining vegetative understory, characterized by a lack of tree seedling recruitment and shrub populations. This project was embarked upon to identify limiting factors to tree seedling establishment and shrub survival. From these studies, management plans will be developed for revegetating the campground understory. To better understand the factors that inhibit successful seedling establishment, we investigated the effects of varying soil moisture levels on seed germination, seedling survival and seedling dry mass accumulation for red spruce and balsam fir. We also studied the effect of organic layer depth on seedling growth for both …
Forestry Cooperatives For Diverse Management Goals: An Assessment Of Interest Levels Among Maine's Nonindustrial Private Forest Owners Enrolled In The Tree Growth Tax Program, Brian Jonathan Schneider
Forestry Cooperatives For Diverse Management Goals: An Assessment Of Interest Levels Among Maine's Nonindustrial Private Forest Owners Enrolled In The Tree Growth Tax Program, Brian Jonathan Schneider
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Owners of small, non-industrial woodland parcels in the United States maintain heterogeneous management goals for their individual parcels. Research has shown that timber harvesting is becoming less of a priority for this landowner group. In addition, average parcel size for these ownerships has decreased noticeably over the past 20 years. Parcelization, forest fragmentation and the presence of varied landowner goals complicate the matter of conducting ecologically sound, financially feasible forest management. The purpose of this study was to present thee forestry cooperative models to small, non-industrial woodland owners in Maine and to ascertain interest levels. Cooperative models were based on …
Immunopurification Of Bovine Placental Lactogen, Dong Thi Nguyen-Bresinsky
Immunopurification Of Bovine Placental Lactogen, Dong Thi Nguyen-Bresinsky
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A new technique has been developed for the purification of bovine placental lactogen (bPL) from an ammonium sulfate preparation, using an immunomagnetic separation process. This alternative procedure is used in cell and molecular biology to separate various types of proteins, cells and nucleic acids due to its advantages over the traditional methods. The first step of the bPL purification system was to isolate antibody (Ab) against bPL, called sheep anti-rabbit antibody. A two milliliter column of Immobilized Protein G, elution buffer (pH 2.8) and binding buffer (pH 5.0) were used during Ab purification process. The Ab activity was monitored by …
Endocrine Disruption In Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Exposed To Pesticides, Benjamin W. Spaulding
Endocrine Disruption In Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Exposed To Pesticides, Benjamin W. Spaulding
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Since the early 19801s, the numbers of adult Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) returning to Maine's rivers have been in a general decline. In addition, estimates of parr, freshwater smolt and emigrating smolt populations indicate low overwinter survival rates. Overall, these low numbers, along with several other factors, resulted in the Atlantic salmon in eight rivers in Maine being classified as a distinct population segment under the Endangered Species Act. Because many of the listed rivers are found near lowbush blueberry barrens, I investigated the endocrine disrupting potential and effects of selected blueberry pesticides on Atlantic salmon. An E-SCREEN assay was …
Digital Vertical Aerial Camera System For High-Resolution Site Inspections In Conservation Easment Monitoring, Kenton Williams
Digital Vertical Aerial Camera System For High-Resolution Site Inspections In Conservation Easment Monitoring, Kenton Williams
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A three-level satellite to ground monitoring scheme for conservation easement monitoring has been implemented in which high-resolution imagery serves as an intermediate step for inspecting high priority sites. A digital vertical aerial camera system was developed to fulfill the need for an economical source of imagery for this intermediate step. A method for attaching the camera system to small aircraft was designed, and the camera system was calibrated and tested. To ensure that the images obtained were of suitable quality for use in Level 2 inspections, rectified imagery was required to provide positional accuracy of 5 meters or less to …