Sedimentology and micromorphology of drumlin sediments at Chimney Bluffs State Park, New York, United States of America

The drumlin sediments at Chimney Bluffs, New York appear to represent a block-inmatrix style glacial melange. This melange comprises sand stringers, lenses and intraclasts juxtaposed in an apparently massive diamicton. Thin section examination of these glacigenic deposits has revealed microstructures indicative of autokinetic subglacial defonnation which are consistent with a deformable bed origin for the diamicton. These features include banding and. necking of matrix grains, oriented plasma fabrics and the formation of pressure shadows at the long axis ends of elongate clasts. Preservation of primary stratification within the sand intraclasts appears to suggest that these features were pre-existing up-ice deposits that were frozen, entrained, then deposited as part of a defonning till layer beneath an advancing ice sheet. Multi-directional micro-shearing within the sand blocks is thought to reflect the frozen nature of the sand units in such a high strain environment. It is also contended that dewatering of the sediment pile leading to the eventual immobilisation of the defonning till layer was responsible for opening sub-horizontal fissures within the diamicton. These features were subsequently infilled with mass flow poorly sorted sands and silts which were subjected to ductile defonnation during the waning stages of an actively deforming till layer. Microstructures indicative of the dewatering processes in the sand units include patches of fine-grained particles within a coarser-grained matrix and the presence of concentrated zones of translocated clays. However, these units were probably confined within an impermeable diamicton casing that prevented massive pore water influxes from the deforming till layer~ Hence, these microstructures probably reflect localised dewatering of the sand intraclasts. A layered subglacial shear zone model is proposed for the various features exhibited by the drumlin sediments. The complexity of these structures is explained in terms of ii superposing deformation styles in response to changing pore water pressures. Constructional glaciotectonics, as implied by the occurrence of sub-horizontal fissuring, is suggested as the mechanism for the stacking of the sand intraclast units within the diamicton. The usefulness of micromorphology in complimenting the traditional sedimentology of glacigenic deposits is emphasised by the current study. An otherwise massive diamicton was shown to contain microstructures indicative of the very high strain rates expected in a complexly deforming till layer. . It is quite obvious from this investigation that the classification of diamictons needs to be re-examined for evidence of microstructures that could lead to the re-interpretation of diamicton forming processes. RESUME Le pacquet de sediments drumlinaire de Chimney Bluffs, New York, represent un "bloc-en-matrice" genre de melange glaciale. Des structures microscopique comprennent l'evidence pour la defonnation intrinseque attribuee a l'origine lit non resistant du drumlin. PreselVation des structures primaires au coeur des blocs arenaces suggere que ceux sont des depots preexistant qui furent geles, entraines et par la suite sedimentes au milieu d'une couche de debris sous-glaciaires en voie de deformation. Des failles microscopiques a l'interieur des blocs arenaces appuient aussi l'idee d'un bloc cohesif (c'est-a-dire gele) au centre d'un till non resistant. Des implications significatives s'emergent de cette etude pour les conditions sous-glaciaire et les processus de la formation des drumlin.

Muscle strength and activation characteristics of power- trained and non-athlete boys and men

During maturation, muscle strength is enhanced through muscle growth, although neuro-muscular factors are also believed to be involved. In adults, training for power sports has been shown to enhance muscle strength and activation. The purpose of this study was to examine muscle strength and activation in power-trained athletes (POW) compared with non-athletes (CON), in boys and in adults. After familiarization subjects performed ten 5-s explosive maximal voluntary contractions for elbow and knee flexion and extension. The adults were stronger then the boys and the adult POW were stronger then the adult CON, even after correction for muscle size. Normalized rate of torque development was higher in the adults then in the boys and higher in the POW then CON boys. The rate of muscle activation was higher in the adults and POW groups. The results suggest that maturation and power-training have an additive effect on muscle activation.

Royal Canadian Henley Regatta fonds, 1948-1983 (non-inclusive)

In 1903, the Canadian Association of Amateur Oarsmen had their request granted to make the Old Welland Canal at Port Dalhousie the permanent site of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. That same year organized rowing was established in St. Catharines when the St. Catharines Rowing and Canoe Club was formed. The Henley course was completed in July of 1903 after rowing was well underway. Although the Henley course served as an athletic and social event, rowing itself was slow to grow in the St. Catharines area. In 1915 the Regatta was cancelled for the duration of WWI and reinstated in 1919 when an increased public interest in the sport began to grow. Two years later, the Henley Aquatic Association was formed in order to control, maintain and improve the rowing facilities. This association was responsible for building a new clubhouse at Ann Street in 1921 and in 1931 completing the grandstands. Also in the 1930s the association had the Federal Government approve their appeal to have the Henley waters dredged for the first time. The St. Catharines Rowing Club re-located its headquarters to the Lakeport Road site. The 1940s brought more support from local groups and with that more events. In 1945, the St. Catharines Junior Chamber of Commerce began helping to organize and promote rowing locally. One of the new events at the Henley course was the "Schoolboy Championships". The growth of both rowing and the Henley continued growing through the 1950s. The Henley Aquatic Association acquired Reid's Island, now Henley Island, mainly through the efforts of Ted Nelson. In the 1960s, rowing really took off in St. Catharines. Women began to become recognized in the sport when Brock University created a women's rowing team. The second dredging was completed in 1964, leading to the creation of a world class rowing course. The facilities were upgraded to international standards and the Henley rowing course became Canada's first Class A FISA (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Aviron or International Federation of Rowing Associations) rowing course. The first North American Rowing Championship was held at the Henley course in 1967 and again in 1970 for the third championship. The Canadian Henley Rowing Corporation formed in 1972, along with the St. Catharines, Parks and Recreation Department created the first rowing school for youth. Since 1960, St. Catharines has been at a competitive level with other International rowing courses. The city continues to produce Olympic level athletes today.

The Fast Regulation of Photosynthesis in Diatoms: an inquiry into the physiological and physical origins of non-photochemical chlorophyll fluorescence quenching.

Diatoms are renowned for their robust ability to perform NPQ (Non-Photochemical Quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence) as a dissipative response to heightened light stress on photosystem II, plausibly explaining their dominance over other algal groups in turbulent light environs. Their NPQ mechanism has been principally attributed to a xanthophyll cycle involving the lumenal pH regulated reversible de-epoxidation of diadinoxanthin. The principal goal of this dissertation is to reveal the physiological and physical origins and consequences of the NPQ response in diatoms during short-term transitions to excessive irradiation. The investigation involves diatom species from different originating light environs to highlight the diversity of diatom NPQ and to facilitate the detection of core mechanisms common among the diatoms as a group. A chiefly spectroscopic approach was used to investigate NPQ in diatom cells. Prime methodologies include: the real time monitoring of PSII excitation and de-excitation pathways via PAM fluorometry and pigment interconversion via transient absorbance measurements, the collection of cryogenic absorbance spectra to measure pigment energy levels, and the collection of cryogenic fluorescence spectra and room temperature picosecond time resolved fluorescence decay spectra to study excitation energy transfer and dissipation. Chemical inhibitors that target the trans-thylakoid pH gradient, the enzyme responsible for diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation, and photosynthetic electron flow were additionally used to experimentally manipulate the NPQ response. Multifaceted analyses of the NPQ responses from two previously un-photosynthetically characterised species, Nitzschia curvilineata and Navicula sp., were used to identify an excitation pressure relief ‘strategy’ for each species. Three key areas of NPQ were examined: (i) the NPQ activation/deactivation processes, (ii) how NPQ affects the collection, dissipation, and usage of absorbed light energy, and (iii) the interdependence of NPQ and photosynthetic electron flow. It was found that Nitzschia cells regulate excitation pressure via performing a high amplitude, reversible antenna based quenching which is dependent on the de-epoxidation of diadinoxanthin. In Navicula cells excitation pressure could be effectively regulated solely within the PSII reaction centre, whilst antenna based, diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation dependent quenching was implicated to be used as a supplemental, long-lasting source of excitation energy dissipation. These strategies for excitation balance were discussed in the context of resource partitioning under these species’ originating light climates. A more detailed investigation of the NPQ response in Nitzschia was used to develop a comprehensive model describing the mechanism for antenna centred non-photochemical quenching in this species. The experimental evidence was strongly supportive of a mechanism whereby: an acidic lumen triggers the diadinoxanthin de-epoxidation and protonation mediated aggregation of light harvesting complexes leading to the formation of quencher chlorophyll a-chlorophyll a dimers with short-lived excited states; quenching relaxes when a rise in lumen pH triggers the dispersal of light harvesting complex aggregates via deprotonation events and the input of diadinoxanthin. This model may also be applicable for describing antenna based NPQ in other diatom species.