Reproduction in the Western Mud Snake, Farancia abacura reinwardtii (Serpentes: Colubridae), in Arkansas

The reproductive cycle of Farancia abacura reinwardtii was studied using samples of snakes collected throughout Arkansas from 1985 to 1991 ;museum specimens were also examined. The right testis of 22 males was examined by light microscopy. Histological analysis of the testis indicated a postnuptial spermatogenic cycle. Testicular recrudescence begins in late May with sperm production peaking in late summer; sperm over winter in the ductus deferens. Ovarian follicles of 22 females were measured and counted; two follicular sizes were noted. In those undergoing primary vitellogenesis, a maximum size of 6.5 mm was reached; those exhibiting secondary vitellogenesis ranged in size from 12 to 21 mm. Average clutch size in females with follicles over 10 mm was 14.6 (n=6). Oviductal eggs were observed in a single female in early September. Female F. abacura require at least 2.5 years to become sexually mature. Follicular growth is slow over the first two years but increases dramatically during the spring of the third year

Requirements and Benefits of Implementing Just-In-Time Manufacturing for Small-Firm Manufacturers

This study explores the applicability of Just-In-Time (/IT ) manufacturing elements for small-firm manufacturers.  A survey of small-firm electronic firms  was undertaken  to identify  and  document  the level of /IT implementation alread y underway. Integrating concepts necessary for  successful  /IT  implemen­ tation along with the benefits of /IT are also discussed . It is suggested that /IT  manufacturing  is a viable and  useful strategy  to enhance the competitive  position  of small  manufacturing  firms

A Longitudinal Study of the Utilization of Production Management Techniques by Small Electronics Firms

This study is a longitudinal examination of the changes that have taken place in the utilization of production management tools and techniques through the 1981-1988 time period. Results suggest that small electronic manufacturing firms are actively attempting to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their manufacturing  process. Of particular interest is the apparent emphasis on seeking  to contain costs while simplifying  the manufacturing process.

Epidermal Papilloma in an Ozark Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) from the Spring River of Northwest Arkansas

An Ozark hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) with multiple, large, warty skin lesions was collected in the Spring River, Fulton County, Arkansas, in 1994. The specimen was a female, 560 mm in total length, and had a mass of 1,947 g. Tissues were formalin-fixed, and three lesions were processed for histopathology. The normal skin at the tumor margins had a stratified squamous epidermis overlying a loose, well-vascularized, heavily pigmented dermis. Poison glands and mucous glands extended from the epidermis into the dermis. The lesions, in contrast, were masses of epidermal cells up to 100 times thicker than the normal epidermis. They consisted of long, thick, branching epidermal pegs separated by thin fibrovascular papillae. The base of the lesions and all pegs had sharp boundaries bordered by a basement membrane, ruling out invasion. Tumor cells were differentiated into scattered glandular structures suggestive of dermal glands. Cells within the pegs were poorly organized. Nuclei usually contained basophilic granules. Mitotic figures were numerous. By electron microscopy, the cells appeared to be pulling apart except where held together by desmosomes. The sum of the above observations is consistent with a pathological diagnosis of epidermal papilloma

12/02/1947 Letter from the Town of Porter-Kezar Falls, Maine

Letter from the Office of Selectmen, Assessors, and Overseers of the Poor of the Town of Porter-Kezar Falls, Maine, to Louis-Philippe Gagné. The letter offers gratitude to the City of Lewiston for their assistance with a fire incident in Kezar Falls. The fire was likely part of the Great Fires of 1947.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/fac-lpg-1947-10-12/1041/thumbnail.jp

A comparison of strip and quadrat analyses of the woody plants on a central Indiana river bluff

This report is concerned with the distribution of woody plants on certain river hills in central Indiana. The location is in the vicinity of Blue Bluffs on White river in Morgan county. Most hills, and particularly river hills of a hundred or more feet in height, show certain obvious differences in the woody plants at the top and the bottom. The relative abundance and evenness of distribution of different species, however, is hard to ascertain by ordinary observation, hence various methods of sampling are used to determine more exactly what are the distributional relationships of various species. Strip and sample plot methods of timber estimation have long been in use by the foresters and lumbermen, and out of their methods have grown certain practices of the ecologist. In these studies there has been an effort to compare two methods of statistical analysis of vegetation, (1) sampling by line transects, and (2) sampling by quadrats, or regularly distributed squares

The New Economics of Livestock Production Management

The importance of heterogeneity of animal attributes in livestock production is assessed. Preliminary results indicate that variance and skew measures of attributes may be becoming more important over time.livestock economics, herd management, livestock marketing, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Method and apparatus for determining time, direction, and composition of impacting space particles

A space particle collector for recording the time specific particles are captured, and its direction at the time of capture, utilizes an array of targets, each comprised of an MOS capacitor on a chip charged from an external source and discharged upon impact by a particle through a tab on the chip that serves as a fuse. Any impacting particle creates a crater, but only the first will cause a discharge of the capacitor. A substantial part of the metal film around the first crater is burned off by the discharge current. The time of the impulse which burns the tab, and the identification of the target, is recorded together with data from flight instruments. The metal film is partitioned into pie sections to provide a plurality of targets on each of an array of silicon wafers, thus increasing the total number of identified particles that can be collected. It is thus certain which particles were captured at what specific times