Showing papers by "University of Maine published in 1974"

West Atlantic abyssal circulation during the past 120,000 years

Abstract: Three faunal assemblages of benthic foraminifera are associated with the three abyssal water masses of the West Atlantic. Faunal distribution 15,000 yr ago indicates cessation of Arctic bottom water flow and a modified supply of Antarctic Water during the last full glacial period, resulting in an apparent warming of the bottom water. Faunal distribution and thus the deep sea circulation were similar to present conditions during the last interglacial 120,000 yr ago.

Stratigraphic effects of tubificids in profundal lake sediments1

Abstract: Experiments conducted with natural mixed populations of 800 and 1,800 tubificids m−2 in sediment from Messalonskee Lake, Maine, showed average sediment transport by alimentation at 10°C 2–3 times greater than highest rates previously reported. More than 95% of feeding on introduced pollen was at depths above 7 cm, with greatest feeding at 3–4 cm. Small amounts of pollen were raised to the surface from as deep as 15 cm. Downward transport was 14 and 19% of upward. Small pollen grains (< 40 µ) were fed upon and displaced at higher rates than large grains. Organic matter was less in the surface layer of feces than in sediment from feeding depths and in surface sediment where no worms were present. A mathematical model was used to appraise the stratigraphic effects of the worms by deriving age-frequency composition of sediment at various depths.

The Use of Neutral Red and Evans Blue for Live-Dead Determinations of Marine Plankton (With Comments on the Use of Rotenone for Inhibition of Grazing)

Abstract: Modifications of the neutral red vital staining technique of Drgsel and co-workers to sort live and dead marine copepods have made possible live-dead determinations of most components of estuarine ...

The psychology of politics

Abstract: Based on personal experience in the field of politics, observations of political life in the United States, his professional background in psychology, and his wide reading in the field, the author attempts to present an integration ofselected contributions from social and personality psychology relevant to an understanding of political behavior. He tries to make this book undemstandable to undergraduates. In view of the chaotic political scene of today and the apparent misapplication of political power, any attempt to help us understand man’s motivation for public life and the factors that determine people’s choices should be applauded. Stone’s attempt is admirable in this respect; it is also largely successful. In part 1, Introduction to the Study ofPolitical Behavior, the author ranges from an analysis of factors that led to the growth and eventual deterioration ofthe Oneida community, one of the early communes, to a whirlwind tour of political psychology through the ages. He touches upon the ideas of Plato, Hobbes, Machiavelli, and, of course, Freud, Marx, Lasswell, and Lane. He also notes a modern survey research on the habits of Amencan voters. All these areas are dealt with rather superficially (as the sophisticated psychiatric reader will realize instantly when he peruses the section titled Psychoanalysis and Society), but this seems consistent with the author’s goal of educating the bright young mind. Pant 2 focuses on the individual and the way he learns political attitudes. Here we are introduced to Lewin’s field theory, factors influencing character development, and the ways in which the individual eventually learns politically colored socLal reactions. In part 3, Personality and Motivational Factors, the author discusses self-esteem, power, competence, the Machiavellian personality type, the authoritarian and democratic personality disposition, and the liberal-conservative dimension. The reader will gain insight into the rationale for selecting these particular personality variables for dissection, the technology of their measurement, and their possible use in predicting how specific individuals will behave in the political arena. Part 4 takes us into the psychology of participation, leadership, ambition, changing political attitudes, and political choice. In the author’s discussion of barriers to political panticipation, we learn that Americans suffer from severe voter apathy and that even in the most heated campaigns participation is disappointingly low here in comparison with other countries. In light of this fact, the author discusses at some length patterns of leadership, the traits of leaders that attract or repel the public, and the elements that made up the charisma of such personalities as Lenin, Gandhi, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. The ways of approaching measurement of these subtIe factors will intrigue the research-minded reader. The author examines the concepts of image and attitude, particularly in relation to the acknowledged difficulty in changing political ideology and voting preferences. If we are to foster public enlightenment and concern for the quality and efficiency of government, these components must receive greater stress in the future. The volume bears upon great and pervasive public issues. It asks: Can the world powers live in peace, or is war and nuclear annihilation inevitable? How long can the depletion of natural resources and the pollution of the environment continue? Can citizens have faith in their government? How can we induce men and women of great ability and integrity to pursue high office? How does one foster informed, concerned citizen participation so that excellent candidates are recognized and elected? The theme of the individual in the community is seen as applying to four distinguishable groups: the masses, the elite, the national leaders, and dissident minorities. These groups and their many subgroups are striving for self-interest within a cornplex society directed by a political system full of foibles, tangles, and tensions. The search for a truly participatory form of democratic society always goes on; although our forefathers left us with a workable and imaginative instrument for self-government, its application to our changing world requires considenable modification. Hopeful developments that appear to increase political awareness of the American electorate are summarized in Stone’s quotation from McCloskey (1964):

Transfer of matching-to-sample in pigeons.

Abstract: In Experiment I, pigeons were first trained on simultaneous matching-to-sample with either color stimuli or form stimuli, and then shifted to stimuli on the other dimension Matching performance in the first session with stimuli on a given dimension was not affected by prior matching training with stimuli on the other dimension However, in the first six color-matching sessions pooled, birds with prior form-matching training performed significantly better than birds without any prior matching training In Experiment II, birds with experience matching both colors and forms in separate sessions were tested with novel stimulus configurations involving either novel stimuli or novel combinations of familiar colors and forms Matching performance was not affected by novel stimulus configurations, except that performance dropped to a chance level or below when the standard stimulus was novel In Experiments II, III, and IV, three of four tests did not show any effect of prior reinforcement of pecks at a novel stimulus, presented alone, on subsequent matching of that stimulus The results were interpreted as indicating that matching performance in pigeons depends on the learning of stimulus-response chains involving the specific stimuli employed during training An incidental observation in Experiments I and II was that there were typically more excess pecks at the standard stimulus during form-matching sessions than during color-matching sessions, which may be related to the fact that form matching is more difficult than color matching

The Effects of Water Flow Manipulation Below a Hydroelectric Power Dam on the Bottom Fauna of the Upper Kennebec River, Maine

Abstract: We studied the effect of severe fluctuations in flow on the distribution of bottom fauna of the upper Kennebec River. During the years 1964–1970, discharges below Wyman Dam ranged from 8.5 m3/sec to an average daily high of about 170 m3/sec. Slow currents resulting from low flows appeared to limit the diversity and abundance of swift-water aquatic insects on the river-bottom below the dam. Sampling stations above the impoundment averaged 19 aquatic insect genera, while those below the dam averaged 11. About 19 genera were found at stations where the current near bottom fluctuated from 0.5 m/sec to 0.9 m/sec while only 4 genera were found at stations where the fluctuations were from 0.1 to 0.5 m/sec. Aquatic insects adapted for swift water such as Rhyacophila, Chimarra, Iron, Blepharocera, Acroneuria, and Paragnetina were more abundant above the impoundment than below, and were absent from those stations below the impoundment with the lowest current velocities.

An ultrastructural analysis of early fertilization in the sand dollar, Echinarachnius parma.

Abstract: The morphology of gametes of a representative echinoid, Echinarachnius parma were investigated ultrastructurally with particular emphasis on gamete interaction during fertilization. The acrosomal region of the spermatozoon is characterized by the presence of two components: an acrosomal vesicle and periacrosomal materials. The acrosomal vesicle, which is completely bounded by a limiting membrane, is surrounded by periacrosomal materials. Nuclear and mitochondrial regions of the spermatozoon are also described briefly. The ovum is surrounded by two extraneous coats: an outer jelly layer and an inner vitelline envelope. Pigment cells are present within the outer jelly layer. Ooplasmic organelles and inclusions including cortical granules and the female pronucleus are described.

The Relationship of Creativity to Cortical Activation and its Operant Control

Abstract: On the basis of theories and research on cognitive and perceptual processes, several hypotheses concerning psychophysiological differences between high and low creative subjects were made. Thirty male undergraduates were divided into high and low creative groups on the basis of the Remote Associates Test and a version of the Uses Test. Basal alpha index, alpha blocking in response to stimulus onset, and performance on alpha enhancement and suppression in a feedback situation were measured. High creative subjects exhibited a lower alpha index and a greater decrement in alpha due to stimulus onset. High creatives showed immediate acquisition of control in alpha enhancement trials but no improvement across trials, while low creative subjects showed continual improvements and quickly reached the level of control of high creative subjects. High creatives were much better at alpha suppression than at alpha enhancement.

Discrimination of stimulus duration and d-amphetamine in pigeons: A psychophysical analysis

Abstract: Pigeons discriminated visual stimulus duration in a psychophysical choice procedure. Following short durations, one of two responses was reinforced; following long durations, the other response was reinforced. Discrimination accuracy decreased as a function of increasing dose level of d-amphetamine. Decrements in accuracy were greater for two of three pigeons following long-than following short-stimulus durations. Position response biases increased as dose level incraesed. Similar effects of the drug on behavior occurred over two temporal ranges of stimulus durations studied.

Quaternary Glaciations of the White River Valley, Alaska, with a Regional Synthesis for the Northern St. Elias Mountains, Alaska and Yukon Territory

Abstract: During Quaternary ice ages, a complex piedmont glacier repeatedly formed north of the St. Elias Mountains in Yukon Territory and Alaska. During the Macauley glaciation (the youngest), the White River valley in Alaska served as a conduit of ice that filled the valley to thicknesses of 850 to 1,150 ft (256 to 351 m) and flowed eastward into Yukon Territory, where it fed the western margin of the Macauley piedmont glacier. C 14 dates fail to pinpoint Macauley expansion in the valley, but they do indicate deglaciation by 11,270 yr B.P. and subsequent spruce immigration by 8,020 yr B.P. On as many as five occasions prior to 37,000 yr B.P., pre-Macauley ice filled the valley; on at least three occasions, it spilled northward over the valley rim. Along its upper surface, Macauley drift in the White River valley and in the adjacent Snag-Klutlan area (Rampton, 1971a) can be traced into Kluane Drift exposed farther east near Kluane Lake (Denton and Stuiver, 1966, 1967), thus permitting reconstruction of the Macauley-Kluane piedmont glacier. Near Kluane Lake, the main Kluane ice advance postdated 29,600 yr B.P., but the initial Macauley advance in the Snag-Klutlan area is not associated with finite C 14 dates. The maximum Macauley-Kluane ice extent was attained near Snag about 14,000 yr B.P. (Rampton, 1971a); subsequent recession was very rapid. Prior to the Kluane glaciation, Shakwak Trench was deglaciated to the vicinity of Kluane Lake during the Boutellier nonglacial interval ( 49,000 yr B.P.). Whether similar recession characterized the Snag-Klutlan area and White River valley is not known. The earlier Icefield glaciation (>49,000 yr B.P. near Kluane Lake) correlates with, or is younger than, the Mirror Creek glaciation (>38,000 yr B.P. in the Snag-Klutlan area). The still older Silver nonglacial interval and the Shakwak glaciation in the Kluane Lake area cannot be correlated now with other St. Elias events. Nor can pre-Macauley glaciations in the White River valley be correlated yet on a regional basis. The most striking late Wisconsin event in the St. Elias Mountains was the nearly complete disintegration of Macauley-Kluane ice within only 1,500 to 2,700 yr after attaining its maximum about 14,000 yr B.P. Several other alpine glacier systems in cordilleran North and South America showed similar rapid recession, as did larger ice sheets to a less marked degree. Quite possibly, the behavior of these sensitive alpine glaciers reflects an abrupt background climatic event that essentially terminated the late Wisconsin glaciation shortly after 14,000 yr ago. These data indicate that Termination I of Broecker and van Donk (1970) began shortly after 14,000 yr B.P. The glacial chronology of the northern St. Elias Mountains suggests that early man could have inhabited Shakwak Trench, perhaps using it as a route to British Columbia or coastal southeastern Alaska, during the Boutellier nonglacial interval, and again by 11,000 to 12,000 yr B.P. at the end of the Kluane-Macauley glaciation.

Homologous viral interference in trout and Atlantic salmon cell cultures infected with infectious pancreatic necrosis virus.

Abstract: The occurrence of homologous interference in the replication of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus was demonstrated after successive passages of partially purified virus at high input multiplicities in trout and Atlantic salmon cell cultures. Pretreatment of cell cultures with interfering virus inhibited the replication of homologous standard infectious virus but not unrelated viruses. The ability of infectious pancreatic interfering virus to interfere with homologous virus was abolished with UV irradiation, immune serum, and freeze-thawing.

Induced lateral eye-movements and creative and intellectual performance.

Abstract: Three experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that induced lateral eye-movements would differentially affect performance on creativity, spatial relations, and abstraction tasks Eye-movements were induced by having Ss take tests while wearing taped goggles. Partial confirmation of the hypothesis was obtained for male Ss only. In one study induced left-looking enhanced performance on a creativity test and in another, on a spatial relations task.

Postglacial Emergence of the Gulf of Maine

Abstract: Sonic subbottom profiles reveal that glacial deposits off the Kennebec River, all shallower than 65 m, show an erosional topography with a relief of up to 30 m At greater depths, in the area between Cape Small and Damariscove Island, these deposits are flat surfaced A possible berm is present at the transition from dissected to undissected deposits, and the entire area is covered by a veneer of recent sediments The erosional topography is thought to have formed subaerially during a postglacial period of emergence A curve has been constructed for the isostatic change of the Gulf of Maine area during the past 13,000 yr Crustal rebound commenced at a rate of 19 cm per yr, exceeding the rate of eustatic sea-level rise, so that by 12,300 yr BP the sea had retreated to the present coastline Maximal emergence was reached about 8,500 yr BP when the crustal subsidence commenced; this settling is still continuing

Magnetoresistance in amorphous germanium

Abstract: The magnetoresistance of evaporated amorphous germanium films ranging in thickness from 200 A to several microns has been measured in the temperature range 77 K < T < 300 K for magnetic fields ranging from 5 G to 100 kG. The results are in general agreement with those of Mell and Stuke. Various models which attempt to account for the magnetoresistance are discussed, but it is concluded that the origins of this effect are not understood at this time. The magnetoresistance measured at 77 K in the presence of a high electric field (45 000 V/cm) shows the same behavior as obtained for low electric fields.

Zinc deficiency in female rabbits

Abstract: Zinc deficiency was induced in recently weaned female Tan rabbits by feeding a diet containing 0·2 p.p.m. of zinc and severely limiting their access to zinc from other sources in the environment. Reduced food consumption, weight loss, lowered haematocrit levels, frequent appearance of alopecia and dermatosis as well as reproductive failure were observed. Histologically, the uteri of the zinc-deficient rabbits were pale and inactive. The ovaries had Graafian follicles but lacked corpora lutea despite repeated attempts to mate the females.