The Potential Loss of Coastal Open Space Due to the Utilization of Privately Owned Wastewater Treatment Facilities: A Case Study in Gloucester, Massachusetts

The impact of privately owned sewage treatment plants, a viable alternative to on-site septic systems, is examined in regards to future land-use patterns. It was hypothesized that the use of these facilities would lead to a greater loss of open space, in the coastal City of Gloucester, Massachusetts, than if only conventional on-site septic systems were to be permitted. Constraints to development such as zoning, wetlands, soil characteristics, parcel size, and economic viability were applied to undeveloped property in Gloucester. The results were used to identify individual parcels and calculate the respective developability based on the two different scenarios. Only six individual parcels in Gloucester were found to possess the conditions needed to viably construct a development supported with a privately owned sewage treatment plant. Thus, it was determined that constraints are too great in Gloucester to allow for a widespread use of these facilities. Supporting the hypothesis, on the six identified parcels an average increase of just under 300% developability was found to be possible

Functional preservation of vascular smooth muscle tissue

The ionic and cellular feedback relationships operating to effect the vascular decompensatory modifications were examined to reveal procedures for implementing protective measures guarding against vascular collapse when returning from a weightless environment to that of the earth's gravity. The surgical procedures for preparing the rat cremaster, and the fixation methods are described. Abstracts of publications resulting from this research are included

Design of a Multi-Color Plenoptic Camera for Snapshot Hyperspectral Imaging

The design of a custom camera lens including: a two-lens optical system, filter array, and iris has been developed enabling a greyscale plenoptic camera to acquire full field-of-view, 2D, instantaneous hyperspectral measurements. This work focuses on the use of 7 discrete color filters and their effect on the image quality. It was determined that the placement of the filters inside the aperture plane of the camera was paramount to mitigating image artifacts. In addition, design rules were developed such that the optimal optical parameters (image distance, working distance, and focal length) can be easily determined from a few charts

Maximum and minimum monthly mean sea surface temperatures charted from the World Atlas of Sea Surface Temperatures

Maximum and minimum water temperatures are of interest in oceanography in many connections. Among their more important uses, they afford the most valuable simple index of temperature conditions for analyses of the distributions of marine organisms

Fe, Zn, Mn and N transfer between size classes in a coastal phytoplankton community: Trace metal and major nutrient recycling compared

Experiments were performed to investigate transfer of 59Fe, 65Zn, 54Mn, and 15N from labeled cyanobacteria to the large (\u3e8 μm or \u3e5 μm) phytoplankton size class from Monterey Bay, California. Transfer of metal isotope activity was measured from and into total (for all isotopes) and intracellular (59Fe only) pools. Results demonstrated rapid and efficient transfer of nitrogen to the large phytoplankton size class; intracellular 59Fe was transferred into the intracellular and total pools of the \u3e8 μm phytoplankton size class 70% and 130% as efficiently as nitrogen, respectively. 65Zn and 54Mn were transferred between size classes 48% and 23% as efficiently as N. Extracellular 59Fe and 65Zn from the added cyanobacteria also appeared quickly in the large size fraction, although most of the Fe transfer appeared to be the result of surface adsorption rather than biological uptake. These data are discussed in relation to the biological recycling efficiencies of the four elements and the resulting implications for biogeochemical cycling of trace and major nutrient elements

Journal of Fishing Voyage, Schooner Signal, 1858

Journal for the Schr. Signal, a cod fishing vessel out of Kennebunk (Me.) whose master was Captain John Tanner. The log records a Fishing voyage from Cape Porpoise to the “Banks and Bay.” Includes much reference to weather conditions and some accounts of catch for individual crew members. The author of the Journal is John W. Hutchins

Health Promotion for Maine’s Aging Population: A Legislative Roadmap

Maine has the distinction of being the oldest state in the nation. This policy brief considers strategies for promoting the health of aging Mainers. As of 2005, 7.5 million individuals living in rural America were over the age of 65. Challenges of living in a rural area can make it difficult for older individuals to access services that are vital to their daily living. Older adults in rural regions are found to be less educated, have worse health outcomes, and have incomes that fall below the poverty level. Recommended strategies include utilizing the Federally Qualified Health Centers, encourage greater collaboration, reassess eligibility requirements for MaineCare, and educate Maine citizens about available services. By following these recommendations, it is possible to improve the health and quality of life of older individuals living in rural regions

Ultrasonic Evaluation of Polymers and Composites Using Air-Coupled Capacitance Transducres

It is often necessary to evaluate materials using non-contact ultrasonic techniques, for example when the test sample is hot, moving, or highly absorbent to conventional fluid couplants. Several non-contact methods are available, such as various optical techniques [1–3], which are generally expensive and require the sample to have optimized optical characteristics. Electro-magnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) [4,5] and capacitance devices [6] may be used, but require an electrically conductive sample, and a small stand-off distance of a few millimeters or less. There has been much interest recently in the use of air-coupled transducers [7], which may be piezoelectric, using piezopolymers such as PVDF [8], piezocomposites of PZT and epoxy [9,10], or piezoceramics with impedance matching layers on the transducer face [11]. Another type of device is the electrostatic or capacitance transducer [12,13], which consists of a metallized polymer membrane against a backplate electrode to which a bias voltage is applied. Motion of the membrane causes the charge on the backplate to change, which may be detected using a suitable charge amplifier. These devices in general have a wider bandwidth than their piezoelectric counterparts, and improved sensitivity. The backplates are usually mechanically roughened metal, and it is therefore difficult to manufacture two identical devices. However, using a silicon backplate [14–17] and standard etching techniques, the surface of the backplate may be precisely controlled. Such a device is shown schematically in Figure 1. The backplate consists of a silicon wafer into which pits 40μm in diameter and 80μm apart have been anisotropically etched to a depth of approximately 40μm. A gold electrode is then evaporated onto the backplate, and a thin metallized polymer membrane is then placed next to the plate

Gesture analysis for physics education researchers

Systematic observations of student gestures can not only fill in gaps in students' verbal expressions, but can also offer valuable information about student ideas, including their source, their novelty to the speaker, and their construction in real time. This paper provides a review of the research in gesture analysis that is most relevant to physics education researchers and illustrates gesture analysis for the purpose of better understanding student thinking about physics.Comment: 14 page