MINK

The mink (Mustela vison) is a member of the weasel family. Both sexes are a rich chocolate-brown color, usually with a white patch on the chest or chin and scattered white patches on the belly. The fur is relatively short with the coat consisting of a soft, dense underfur concealed by glossy, lustrous guard hairs. Mink also have anal musk glands common to the weasel family and can discharge a disagreeable musk if frightened or disturbed. Unlike skunks, however, they cannot forcibly spray musk. Mink are shoreline dwellers and their one basic habitat requirement is a suitable permanent water area. This may be a stream, river, pond, marsh, swamp, or lake. Waters with good populations of fish, frogs, and aquatic invertebrates and with brushy or grassy ungrazed shorelines provide the best mink habitat. The mink is strictly carnivorous. Because of its semiaquatic habits, it obtains about as much food on land as in water. Mink are opportunistic feeders with a diet that includes mice and rats, frogs, fish, rabbits, crayfish, muskrats, insects, birds, and eggs. Mink may occasionally kill domestic poultry around farms. They typically kill their prey by biting them through the skull or neck. Closely spaced pairs of canine tooth marks are sign of a mink kill

Program Planning for Extension Wildlife Damage Control: Rodents

Program planning is a necessary part of any educational program which is intended to progress in an orderly or logical manner. However, it must be realized that extension wildlife specialists often must deal with special sets of circumstances when it comes to resolving problems with wildlife. When faced with a particular damage problem, the wildlife specialist has two options: to act or to react. The choice of which course to take depends on the specific problem and on a number of related factors, such as uniqueness and severity of the problem and community attitudes

RACCOONS (\u3ci\u3eProcyon lotor\u3c/i\u3e)

The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is found throughout the United States, with the exception of the higher elevations of mountainous regions and some areas of the arid Southwest. Raccoons prefer hardwood forest areas near water. Raccoons are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal foods. Raccoons may cause damage or nuisance problems in a variety of ways, and their distinctive tracks often provide evidence of their involvement in damage situations. Raccoons are protected furbearers in most states, with seasons established for running, hunting, or trapping

Financial Services Modernization: A Cure for Problem Banks?

On February 5, 1991, after consulting federal financial regulatory agencies and other interested governmental parties, the Department of the Treasury transmitted to Congress its report: Modernizing the Financial System: Recommendations for Safer, More Competitive Banks. The Treasury Report concludes that four major problems confront the U.S. banking system: (1) reduced bank competitiveness and financial strength, caused by outdated legal restrictions that prevent banks from responding to changing financial markets and technology; (2) the overextension of deposit insurance, resulting in excessive exposure for taxpayers and weakened market discipline for banks; (3) a fragmented regulatory system that has created duplicative rules and has often failed to produce decisive remedial action; and (4) an undercapitalized deposit insurance fund. To address these problems, the Treasury Report recommends four fundamental legislative reforms: (1) to increase bank competitiveness, Congress should authorize nation-wide banking, new financial activities for banks, and commercial ownership of banks; (2) to reduce taxpayer exposure and increase market discipline, Congress should reduce the scope of deposit insurance, require a link between regulatory supervision and capital strength, and require risk-based insurance premiums for deposit insurance; (3) to reduce duplicative rules and produce decisive remedial action, Congress should streamline the federal regulatory system; and (4) to recapitalize the Bank Insurance Fund, Congress should adopt a funding plan based on contributions from the banking industry, rather than from the Treasury and the taxpayers. After a very basic historical review of past attempts to reform the banking industry, this Article focuses on the less publicized portions of the Treasury recommendations in an attempt to identify some of the issues that would remain unsettled, even if the proposals are enacted into law

COBE Observations of the Microwave Counterparts of Gamma Ray Bursts

We have used the data from the COBE satellite to search for delayed microwave emission (31 - 90 GHz) from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). The large $7^\circ$ beam of COBE is well matched to the large positional uncertainties in the GRB locations, although it also means that fluxes from (point source) GRB objects will be diluted. In view of this we are doing a statistical search of the GRBs which occurred during the currently released COBE DMR data (years 1990 and 1991), which overlap $\sim 200$ GRBs recorded by GRO. Here we concentrate on just the top 10 GRBs (in peak counts/second). We obtain the limits on the emission by comparing the COBE fluxes before and after the GRB at the GRB location. Since it is thought that the microwave emission should lag the GRB event, we have searched the GRB position for emission in the few months following the GRB occurrence.Comment: 5 pages, LaTE

Non-magnetic semiconductor spin transistor

We propose a spin transistor using only non-magnetic materials that exploits the characteristics of bulk inversion asymmetry (BIA) in (110) symmetric quantum wells. We show that extremely large spin splittings due to BIA are possible in (110) InAs/GaSb/AlSb heterostructures, which together with the enhanced spin decay times in (110) quantum wells demonstrates the potential for exploitation of BIA effects in semiconductor spintronics devices. Spin injection and detection is achieved using spin-dependent resonant interband tunneling and spin transistor action is realized through control of the electron spin lifetime in an InAs lateral transport channel using an applied electric field (Rashba effect). This device may also be used as a spin valve, or a magnetic field sensor. The electronic structure and spin relaxation times for the spin transistor proposed here are calculated using a nonperturbative 14-band k.p nanostructure model.Comment: Accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letter

Practice variation in late-preterm deliveries: a physician survey

Objective: Late preterm (LPT) neonates account for over 70% of all preterm births in the US. Approximately 60% of LPT births are the result of non-spontaneous deliveries.The optimal timing of delivery for many obstetric conditions at LPT gestations is unclear, likely resulting in obstetric practice variation. The purpose of this study is to identify variation in the obstetrical management of LPT pregnancies. Study design: We surveyed obstetrical providers in NC identified from NC Medical Board and NC Obstetrical and Gynecological Society membership lists. Participants answered demographic questions and 6 multiple-choice vignettes on management of LPT pregnancies. Result: We obtained 215/859 (29%) completed surveys; 167 (78%) from Obstetrics/Gynecology, 27 (13%) from Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and 21 (10%) from Family Medicine physicians. Overall, we found more agreement on respondents’ management of chorioamnionitis (97% would proceed with delivery), mild preeclampsia (84% would delay delivery/expectantly manage), and fetal growth restriction (80% would delay delivery/expectantly manage). We found less agreement on the management of severe preeclampsia (71% would proceed with delivery), premature preterm rupture of membranes (69% would proceed with delivery), and placenta previa (67% would delay delivery/expectantly manage). Management of LPT pregnancies complicated by PPROM, FGR, and placenta previa vary by specialty. Conclusion: Obstetrical providers report practice variation in the management of LPT pregnancies. Variation might be influenced by provider specialty. The absence of widespread agreement on best practice might be a source of modifiable LPT birth

UV-optical from space

The following subject areas are covered: (1) the science program (star formation and origins of planetary systems; structure and evolution of the interstellar medium; stellar population; the galactic and extragalactic distance scale; nature of galaxy nuclei, AGNs, and QSOs; formation and evolution of galaxies at high redshifts; and cosmology); (2) implementation of the science program; (3) the observatory-class missions (HST; LST - the 6m successor to HST; and next-generation 16m telescope); (4) moderate and small missions (Delta-class Explorers; imaging astrometric interferometer; small Explorers; optics development and demonstrations; and supporting ground-based capabilities); (5) prerequisites - the current science program (Lyman-FUSE; HTS optimization; the near-term science program; data analysis, modeling, and theory funding; and archives); (6) technologies for the next century; and (7) lunar-based telescopes and instruments