Reported Animal Rabies in Arkansas: 1950-1981

Reported animal rabies in Arkansas is reviewed for the years 1950-81 . Total cases ranged from 44 in 1969 to 332 in 1979, with a mean of 154. Domestic animals accounted for 72.5% of the total cases until 1961-63 and then declined to 15.8% from 1964-81. This switch from domestic to wildlife rabies corresponded to a similar trend in nationally reported rabies and was probably due to increased public awareness and the vaccination of domestic dogs and cats. Over the 31 year period a total of 18 species of mammals has been implicated in reported rabies (individual species of foxes, bats and skunks have been grouped together). The four species accounting for the highest incidence are: skunks (34.5%), dogs (27.2%), foxes (15.8%) and cattle (13.9%). Between 1964-81, skunks accounted for 63.5% of total reported rabies; however, in recent years this percentage has increased to 80-90%

Anatomical and Behavioral Aspects of Killing and Feeding by the Least Weasel, Mustela nivalis L.

The least weasel (Mustela nivalis) is a remarkably well adapted predator of mice and other small animals. Each kill is rather stereotyped, in that the weasel grabs the prey by the nape of the neck and bites through the base of the skull and/or throat, using its lithe body to wrap up and hold the prey. The least weasel will kill mice successively until it is too exhausted physically to kill more. Mice are always eaten from the head posteriorly until completely consumed

Utilization of Nest Boxes by the Southern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys volans, in Central Arkansas

Thirty-five nest boxes were placed 4.5-5.5 meters above the ground in an eight acre mixed pine-hardwood plot 20 km SE of Bryant, Saline County, Arkansas. These boxes were monitored from February, 1972, to May, 1975. Flying squirrels used the boxes between October and May, probably returning to den trees during the hotter period of the year. A total of 30 squirrels (18 males and 12 females) were marked by ear notching during the three year period. The winter population of the study area was estimated to be between 10 and 15 squirrels. It was not uncommon to find eight or more squirrels in one nest. There were five litters born in nest boxes during the study, with an average of two young/litter. Examination of other females during January and February, together with these litters, indicated that all spring litters were born during March. Boxes served either as nesting areas or feeding stations. Nests were composed of shredded bark with a moss base and often filled a box to a depth of 8 or more centimeters. Acorns were the major food item, with sweet-gum balls, immature pine cones, and insects also being utilized. Between April and October, the boxes were utilized most extensively by gray tree frogs, red wasps, dirt-dauber wasps, wood roaches, wrens, and black rat snakes

Polarimetry of optically selected BL Lac candidates from the SDSS

We present and discuss polarimetric observations of 182 targets drawn from an optically selected sample of 240 probable BL Lac candidates out of the SDSS compiled by Collinge et al. (2005). In contrast to most other BL Lac candidate samples extracted from the SDSS, its radio- and/or X-ray properties have not been taken into account for its derivation. Thus, because its selection is based on optical properties alone, it may be less prone to selection effects inherent in other samples derived at different frequencies, so it offers a unique opportunity to extract the first unbiased BL Lac luminosity function that is suitably large in size. We found 124 out of 182 targets (68%) to be polarized, 95 of the polarized targets (77%) to be highly polarized (> 4%). The low-frequency peaked BL Lac candidates in the sample are on average only slightly more polarized than the high-frequency peaked ones. Compared to earlier studies, we found a high duty cycle in high polarization (~66 +2/-14% to be > 4% polarized) in high-frequency peaked BL Lac candidates. This may come from our polarization analysis, which minimizes the contamination by host galaxy light. No evidence of radio-quiet BL Lac objects in the sample was found. Our observations show that the probable sample of BL Lac candidates of Collinge et al. (2005) indeed contains a large number of bona fide BL Lac objects. High S/N spectroscopy and deep X-ray observations are required to construct the first luminosity function of optically selected BL Lac objects and to test more stringently for any radio-quiet BL Lac objects in the sample.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 14 pages, 9 figures, table 1 in electronic form onl

Analysis of Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) Fur Harvests in Arkansas

An investigation was conducted on gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) fur harvest in Arkansas. Data were gathered from a mail survey of Arkansas trappers and from Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fur harvest records from 1939 to 1983. Analyses of these data demonstrated: 1) gray fox were abundant statewide with lower levels in the Delta region; 2) there was a need for fox trappers to keep better records on their trapping efforts, success and composition of catch, including sex and age data; 3) market price: harvest correlation was high (r = 0.956, p \u3c .001); 4) over the past 10 years, the Ozark Mountain region provided the greatest contribution to annual fox harvests, the Ouachita Mountain and Gulf Coastal Plain regions were similar to each other, but lower than the Ozarks, and the Delta region contributed the least, but with a generally stable harvest

Variability and stability in optical blazar jets: the case of OJ287

OJ287 is a BL Lac object at redshift z=0.306 that has shown double-peaked bursts at regular intervals of ~12 yr during the last ~ 40 yr. Due to this behavior, it has been suggested that OJ287 might host a close supermassive binary black hole. We present optical photopolarimetric monitoring data from 2005-2009, during which the latest double-peaked outburst occurred. We find a stable component in the optical jet: the optical polarization core. The optical polarization indicates that the magnetic field is oriented parallel to the jet. Using historical optical polarization data, we trace the evolution of the optical polarization core and find that it has showed a swing in the Stokes plane indicating a reorientation of the jet magnetic field. We also find that changes in the optical jet magnetic field seem tightly related to the double-peaked bursts. We use our findings as a new constraint on possible binary black hole models. Combining all available observations, we find that none of the proposed binary black bole models is able to fully explain the observations. We suggest a new approach to understanding OJ287 that is based on the assumption that changes in the jet magnetic field drive the regular outbursts.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the meeting "Steady and Transient Jets", held in Bonn, Germany (7-8 April 2010

The Unappreciated Importance, For Small Business Defendants, of the Duty to Settle

This paper suggests how the duty to settle, which requires liability insurers to pay damages awarded against their insured in excess of the policy limits when the insurers reject a reasonable settlement offer within the limits, may have indirectly led certain of their insureds--small business recreational vendors like horse riding stables or some motels offering swimming pools with diving boards--to sanitize the recreational activities they offer. More generally, the duty to settle\u27s effect on the lawsuits injured customers brought against small business recreational vendors may have led a wide variety of such vendors to sanitize activities the vendors previously offered in a manner that disassociates the activities from the most severe injuries, but leaves them less enjoyable for many. This paper\u27s scope is narrow. In sum, the duty to settle helps the severely injured plaintiff, or, more precisely, any plaintiff whose suit might result in a larger judgment, bargain for the limits of the defendant\u27s liability insurance. The duty to settle achieves this effect by making it harder for the small business defendant and its liability insurer to exploit the advantages that arise from the defendant\u27s judgment-proof status. The liability insurer can no longer take advantage of the plaintiff\u27s knowledge of the defendant\u27s judgment-proof status and of the ceiling that imposes upon the best possible outcome for a plaintiff continuing to litigate. In the absence of the duty to settle, or of some other method for giving plaintiffs access to unlimited liability insurance, the plaintiffs understandably resign themselves to bargaining down from those limits. By undermining the effect of those limits, the duty to settle dramatically increases the insurer\u27s exposure, especially for severe injuries, and, hence, leads the insurer to pressure its insured to alter its activities so as to reduce the chance, for whatever reason, of a customer suffering a severe injury