MP731: New England Killing Frost Records by Zone

This publication provides a deeper look at the killing frost data that is analyzed and summarized in Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station Bulletin 846. The presentation in Bulletin 846 is designed to help planners and analysts. Individual readers, historians, botanists, agronomists, ecologists, and others may find a deeper look at the materials useful. Miscellaneous Publication 731 provides those data by climate zone on a yearly basis.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscpubs/1026/thumbnail.jp

B846: Growing Season Parameter Reconstructions for New England Using Killing Frost Records, 1697-1947

In New England, killing frosts in the late spring and early fall mark the limits of the region\u27s growing seasons. Over the years, farmers have tried to anticipate when to plant and when to harvest to safely prevent their crops from experiencing the harmful effects of freezing. As a hedge against failing memory, some farmers kept notes on when killing frosts occurred so that they could more readily calculate in the years to come when to sow and when to reap. Some of these notes have survived and are now preserved in archives and libraries across the region, or remain the proud possessions of later generations of the same families. The growing season records reconstructed for this bulletin are based on data taken from these diaries, farm journals, notebooks, and scraps of paper and represent the observations of several generations of New England farmers.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1039/thumbnail.jp

The 2010 Interferometric Imaging Beauty Contest

We present the results of the fourth Optical/IR Interferometry Imaging Beauty Contest. The contest consists of blind imaging of test data sets derived from model sources and distributed in the OI-FITS format. The test data consists of spectral data sets on an object "observed" in the infrared with spectral resolution. There were 4 different algorithms competing this time: BSMEM the Bispectrum Maximum Entropy Method by Young, Baron & Buscher; RPR the Recursive Phase Reconstruction by Rengaswamy; SQUEEZE a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm by Baron, Monnier & Kloppenborg; and, WISARD the Weak-phase Interferometric Sample Alternating Reconstruction Device by Vannier & Mugnier. The contest model image, the data delivered to the contestants and the rules are described as well as the results of the image reconstruction obtained by each method. These results are discussed as well as the strengths and limitations of each algorithm.Comment: To be published in SPIE 2010 "Optical and infrared interferometry II

Frost-Free Record Reconstruction for Eastern Massachusetts, 1733-1980

A reconstruction methodology utilizing such varied documents as diaries, agricultural journals, U.S. Weather Bureau killing frost records and instrumental records is discussed. A resultant 248-year frost record for eastern Massachusetts exhibits marked variations in the length of the growing season, that occur on a time scale of approximately 70 years. There is an apparent systematic long-term relationship between the timing of spring and fall killing frosts and the last 100 years of record reveals a decline in year-to-year variability

B771: Long-Time Series Temperature and Precipitation Records for Maine, 1808-1978

The purpose of this Bulletin is to reconstruct a series of long run temperature and precipitation instrumental records for Maine (monthly means and accumulations). We hope that the data tables and graphs produced here will be of use to climatologists and other researchers and to Maine residents who are interested in the climatic history of the state. To aid in reconstruction, regional records were formed by grouping records from several geographical locations. Much of the data reproduced here have been published elsewhere in a wide variety of publications. Some are found easily in libraries while others are not readily available. A small number of records are published here for the first time. A bibliography of source materials, organized by region and then location is provided for those wishing to consult the original records.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1132/thumbnail.jp

Climate Fluctuation and Agricultural Change in Southern and Central New England, 1765-1880

This article discusses the theory that previous discussions of the decline of Maine population in the period 1765-1880 failed the address the impact of weather fluctuations on the society of Maine

Assessing Autism in Adults: An Evaluation of the Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview-Adult Version (3Di-Adult).

We developed a brief, informant-report interview for assessing autism spectrum conditions (ASC) in adults, called the Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview-Adult Version (3Di-Adult); and completed a preliminary evaluation. Informant reports were collected for participants with ASC (n = 39), a non-clinical comparison group (n = 29) and a clinical comparison group (n = 20) who had non-autistic mental health conditions. Mean administration time was 38 min (50 min for ASC). Internal consistency (αs ≥ 0.93) and inter-rater agreement (ICCs ≥ 0.99) were high. When discriminating ASC from non-ASC, the 3Di-Adult showed excellent sensitivity (95%) and specificity (92%). The 3Di-Adult shows promise as a psychometrically sound and time-efficient interview for collecting standardised informant reports for DSM-5 assessments of ASC in adults, in research and clinical practice

Caregiver distress in parkinsonism

This study examined the frequency and degree of caregiver burden in persons with parkinsonism, a group of disorders with four primary symptoms that include tremor, rigidity, postural instability, and bradykinesia. We assessed associations between perceived caregiver burden and physical, cognitive, and functional impairments using well-established tools for persons with parkinsonism. The 49 individuals with parkinsonism ranged in age from 61 to 87 (mean = 75), while their caregivers (N = 49) ranged in age from 48 to 83 (mean = 70). The caregivers were predominantly either wives (82%) or daughters (6%), with other family members, friends, and/or neighbors (12%) making up the rest. The caregivers reported a relatively high ability for coping (mean scores = 4.6/6). Caregiver burden was significantly negatively associated with activities of daily living and motoric difficulties as measured on the Unified Parkinson\u27s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Likewise, caregiver burden was negatively associated with caregiver self-reported sleep and coping ability. Results did not demonstrate an association on the UPDRS among mentation, behavior, and mood. We found a significant negative correlation for mentation between the Folstein Mini-Mental Status Examination and caregiver burden measures; however, we did not find this association with the Dementia Rating Scale-2. Patient\u27s self-reported pain and caregiver burden were not associated