Olfactory Orientation and Navigation in Humans.

Although predicted by theory, there is no direct evidence that an animal can define an arbitrary location in space as a coordinate location on an odor grid. Here we show that humans can do so. Using a spatial match-to-sample procedure, humans were led to a random location within a room diffused with two odors. After brief sampling and spatial disorientation, they had to return to this location. Over three conditions, participants had access to different sensory stimuli: olfactory only, visual only, and a final control condition with no olfactory, visual, or auditory stimuli. Humans located the target with higher accuracy in the olfaction-only condition than in the control condition and showed higher accuracy than chance. Thus a mechanism long proposed for the homing pigeon, the ability to define a location on a map constructed from chemical stimuli, may also be a navigational mechanism used by humans

Are Alcohol Excise Taxes Good For Us? Short and Long-Term Effects on Mortality Rates

Regression results from a 30-year panel of the state-level data indicate that changes in alcohol-excise taxes cause a reduction in drinking and lower all-cause mortality in the short run. But those results do not fully capture the long-term mortality effects of a permanent change in drinking levels. In particular, since moderate drinking has a protective effect against heart disease in middle age, it is possible that a reduction in per capita drinking will result in some people drinking "too little" and dying sooner than they otherwise would. To explore that possibility, we simulate the effect of a one percent reduction in drinking on all-cause mortality for the age group 35-69, using several alternative assumptions about how the reduction is distributed across this population. We find that the long-term mortality effect of a one percent reduction in drinking is essentially nil.

Dimensions of the Problem

Examines the government\u27s efforts to cope with permanent unemployment resulting from structural changes to the economy.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1156/thumbnail.jp

Minimum Level of Unemployment and Public Policy

Examines the government\u27s efforts to cope with permanent unemployment resulting from structural changes to the economy.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1156/thumbnail.jp

Near Surface Soil Temperature Measurements At Resolute Bay, Northwest Territories

Based on daily readings 1951-1955 by meteorological observers at Resolute, supplemented by author's measurements in summers 1953-1955 and winter 1953-1954. Pt. 1 concerns soil temperatures within the six-ft. overburden of frozen gravel and shattered rock overlying limestone bedrock. Daily, monthly and annual average soil temperatures and the influence on them of air temperatures, isolation, and precipitation are discussed. Pt. 2 is a preliminary report on a special study made in fall 1955 on the freezeback in the active layer. Readings were taken at four-hourly intervals, Aug. 28-Oct. 1. The period of the "zero curtain" (period necessary for soil water to freeze) penetration of the 32 F freezing line, and moisture content and migration are discussed

Hourly Air and Near-Surface Soil Temperatures at Resolute, N.W.T.

Since 1959 the Geographical Branch of the Canada Department of Mines and Technical Surveys has been pursuing a program of enquiry into problems of periglacial geomorphology at Resolute, N.W.T. (74°43'N., 95°59'W.). This area was considered suitable because it is in an active periglacial region, where geomorphological processes are reduced to as near a mechanical process as can be found in nature, since there is an almost complete absence of vegetation. The study of soil temperature in the active layer of permafrost has formed a significant part of the program. In the past freeze-thaw cycles have received special consideration as continued freezing and thawing of the mantle has been considered instrumental in its disintegration. The Resolute program also included the study of freeze-thaw cycles and in the course of this study temperature data were collected at five levels at 4-minute intervals during the period from October 1959 to September 1960 inclusive. In this paper hourly air and near-surface soil data are being analysed as a preliminary to a larger study to be published later. It is realized that a 1-year record does not provide a stable frequency distribution, but as no similar set of data exists for a high arctic area, it is presented here. ..

Periglacial-Geomorphological Investigations at Resolute, 1959

In 1959 the Geographical Branch of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys instituted a long-term program of research in the area at Resolute, Cornwallis Island, N.W.T., into problems of periglacial geomorphology, a relatively new branch of study relating to certain soil and landform features produced in very cold climates. This note is a progress report on the field work of the first year carried out by the writer, assisted by Jacek Romanowski, a graduate of McGill University, Montreal. The area was chosen as the site of investigations because it lies in an active periglacial region. Vegetation is almost absent, and the mechanical actions of frost are reduced to as simple a process as can be found in nature. On the large areas of barren land many periglacial features are revealed with remarkable perfection, especially types of patterned ground. Furthermore, Resolute is easily accessible by air; scheduled flights and many unscheduled flights offer opportunity for transport of personnel and equipment. The annual resupply by boat permits movement of large equipment into the area. Limited workshop and laboratory facilities are available for repair of equipment, sharpening of tools, etc., an important factor in permafrost work. The presence of a first-class meteorological station provides complete meteorological data, indispensable in the study of periglacial processes and phenomena. ..